Last week I had to skip games so I could talk election results, so this week we're going to talk about one of the most enduring deck-building games ever made... Aeon's End.

But first? A little history. The first modern deck-building game is Dominion, which was released in 2008. Everybody starts with the same deck of cards. Over the course of the game, you work to improve and strengthen your deck to win. Dominion is still going strong today with new expansions, but I've only ever played the first box. It's fun, but only really works with a group of people and I couldn't find people wanting to play.

Aeon's End went completely under my radar. I had no idea it existed until a woman held up the box of one of the expansions... The Descent... as an example as to why board games should have ratings like video games, because they're "driving children to worship Satan"...

I had never played the game, but I immediately knew this was fucking bullshit. Just like the self-righteous condemnation of Dungeons & Dragons was fucking bullshit before it. So I Googled it and, sure enough, you play as mages trying to stop the monsters and demons and evil from unleashing destruction. I was intrigued, so I bought the game back in 2024 when I started getting back into board games.

It's considerably different from Dominion despite being another deck-building game. It's also more difficult. But I enjoyed the challenge and decided to buy more expansions. Oddly enough, the rest of The Descent's "Wave 8" sets were nowhere to be found. So instead I went backwards... filling in the bits and pieces I could find. And when the "Wave 10" Kickstarter showed up with the ability to buy all the old stuff I was missing, I did that (due to arrive March, 2027, baby!). In the meanwhile, I've been playing some of the stuff I own to switch things up. Starting with "Wave 4" because I like the Expedition Mode it introduced...

Your task in the game is for you (and optional friends) to select a "Breach Mage" to play. You then have the various abilities and skills of that mage to battle the forces of evil that are trying to invade and destroy your world. Along the way you open breaches to collect energy (called "aether") to cast spells. It's all very cool and flows beautifully because it does one thing very, very different from other deck-building games.

You can't shuffle your deck!

Instead you have be very smart about where and when you acquire the cards you add to your deck and when you play them so that they will circle around again in a way that benefits you in future plays. It's pretty genius, because you can look through your discard pile at any time to plan your strategy. It's like a big puzzle you have to figure out. Which is probably why I love it so much.

Despite it sounding difficult to get into, it really isn't. It's actually quite approachable and straightforward to play. And play. And play. Because there's just so much content out there. And it all works together. You can mix stuff from the earliest sets with the latest, and it all works fine. Different enemies (called "nemeses") present different challenges, and playing different mages adds variety. I've played dozens of games and haven't gotten tired of it yet.

Aeon's End plays true solo just fine. But it's a lot more interesting to play the game solo as two-handed so you get some interaction between the mages going on. On the other end of the spectrum, playing with more than two people can drag things out in a way that's annoying. Though that mostly depends on the group you're playing with, I suppose. Some people love it, because one of the defining play mechanics of the game is a randomized turn order, and the more players you have the more insane things can get.

   
POSITIVES: Lots of fun. Tons of material to explore and options to try gives you loads of replayability. The mechanics of play are fantastic, and can get pretty exciting once you're into the thick of things. On top of that, the games and their expansions feel like a bargain, because they include a lot of cards with new stuff to play and often go on sale. Playing solo is not only possible, but an excellent experience.
NEGATIVES: You don't have to buy everything that's been released, but you'll want to... and that will get very expensive very fast. Additionally, two of the waves ("Wave 3" and "Wave 6") are Legacy games, which is not something I'm into. So if you're playing the games for the overall story that's getting told, you're going to be missing pieces if you don't buy into them. Not that this is critical to play the game, but it's still a bit disappointing that the Legacy stuff isn't separate. Unfortunately if you do buy the games, a lot of the legacy stuff can't be mixed in with the rest.
   
Aeon's End (Indie Boards and Cards)
★★★★★★★★★☆
BLOGOGRAPHY GAME WEEK WEDNESDAY SCORE: 9 out of 10.

Everything is exhausting, all the time now-a-days.

I've been spending a lot of my time contacting my worthless Senators and Representative in the hopes that they will stop being status-quo assholes content to sit on their fucking asses and do nothing instead of getting behind meaningful change. Which mainly involves telling them not to support Hakeem Jeffries for Speaker and not to support Chuck Schumer for Majority Leader. They are the worst possible leaders for the job, and if these status-quo dickheads can't be made to see it, perhaps it's time to go.

Because I'm sick of this stupid shit.

Stupid shit like this...

The White House looks like a fucking wind-up toy next to this stupid fucking ballroom. This is horrific. Tear this shit down and replace it with a structure that doesn't look like we place more importance on parties than we do governing the country. My God what kind of sick fuck would do this?

Well, we know who... but try as I might, I don't know how this was allowed to happen. It's not his fucking house.

No idea if this nonsense can be halted and reversed, but we need people who are going to try.

There's quite a few people who are no longer with us that I miss dearly.

But the worst part of not having these people around is running across a joke that only you and one other person would find funny for the same reason. There's something the two of you shared which makes that particular joke particularly funny between you.

Take for example, this one...

It's a funny joke, but when it comes to my friend Aaron there's a reason that it's funny just to us. Now that he's gone, there's only me. And even if I explained why we would find it funny to other people, it wouldn't be the same. Which means that when I'm gone, that facet of the joke is gone forever.

And here's another one.

It was announced that Tesla's Cybertruck is being discontinued. One of the news story had this photo of a Cybertruck stuck in the sand on a beach...

And I was gutted that my friend Doug wasn't around any more, because this would have been hilarious to us.

I tried to explain this one on my blog once, but you really had to be there.

Unfortunately, you weren't.

   
• Demand! I'm beginning to think that all my gaming money should go to ethical publishers like Plaid Hat Games who keeps their games in print. They use print-on-demand to fulfill orders by people wanting their older stuff. I started playing the excellent Ashes Ascendency expecting that I'd only have a few sets available to buy and everything else would be out of print. Because that's how publishers like Fantasy Flight Games operate. But nope! All the previous cycle Ashes Reborn cards and sets are available!

I found this out when a guy posted about it on the Solo Board Gamers group. So I rushed to a gaming shop and ordered more Phoenixborn Heroes and Chimera invaders to play. REFRESHING!! I wish I had this option for Marvel Champions and Arkham Horror LCG, and I don't understand why Fantasy Flight doesn't hop on the print-on-demand bandwagon. It's like they are throwing money in a fire while pissing off the people wanting to play their games. Bravo and many thanks to Plaid Hat, who cares about the gamers new to their games!

   
• Don't Drive Angry! Groundhog Day is one of my all time favorite films, and it's gotten a lot of analysis over the years. Whenever I happen across another person looking back at this exceptional film, I watch it. This one is very good...

I hope Groundhog Day continues to find an audience, because it's a really special movie.

   
• Hell on Earth! Look, I love The Cheesecake Factory. I eat there whenever I'm in a city which has one. But Obama was clearly making a joke, and even Cheesecake Factory would admit that their interior design is fucking nuts. This look at the franchise is fantastic...

If I'm being honest, having a wildly eclectic and over-the-top design aesthetic in a restaurant is kinda cool. But slapping a bunch of gaudy, tacky, gold shit over the White House is the very definition of "hellscape." It's like a poor person's idea of what rich people live like. Well, thanks to non-stop grifting of the American people, Trump actually has money... so why is he like this?

   
• Take it Slow! That's right! That's right! You get it girl. Go to Pound Town with your funky self!

Whoops. I guess it's "Pounds Hollow" not "Pound Town." Ordinarily, I wouldn't post something like this here. I don't want to mock somebody doing something they love. Follow your dreams. Live your bliss. But this woman is using AI to make it appear that she has actual talent, and it's asinine...

How does she think that she actually made this song? HOW?

   
• Kegsbreath! This is heartbreaking. But more than that it's rage-inducing. What's been done in our name will never, ever be forgiven. And nor should it.

Do you know how we know we've lost the high road? The "Department of Defense" was changed to the "Department of War." It was a very clear sign of what this country has become.

   
• Always Hypocrisy! I was at a restaurant last month where people were praying over their food in public. Does this heinous bigot make videos about that? They were Christians... so where's that video?

The fact that these people are so blissfully unaware of their hypocrisy is scary as hell.

   
• I Swear! And while we're on the subject... there's now a bunch of people freaking out over the fact that Abdul El-Sayed could be the first senator to be sworn in on the Qur'an instead of a Bible. And here we go. The point of being "sworn into office" is that you swear on something important to you to demonstrate the seriousness of your conviction. You are swearing on something as proof of your loyalty to the oath you are taking. So if the Bible is important to you... swear on that. If the Qur'an is important to you... swear on that. According to THE LAW you can swear on whatever you like. If religion isn't important to you then swear on The Constitution, which should be what politicians are sworn in on! You can swear on a fucking gum wrapper. So stop trying to be a dramatic dumbass by reading more into this than what it is... performative. I don't care what you swear on so long as you do your fucking job and uphold The Constitution. My God this is dumb.

   
• Trifecta! And now, since we're wrapping up this Bullet Sunday with anti-Muslim nonsense, we have this...

I wish these dumbfucks would have even a tiny amount of theology in their head before they show how fucking ignorant they are by spouting this stupid shit. — Muhammad is not God. He's a prophet. So this statement would be like saying "One Nation Under Moses," who is a Christian prophet. But no... it's "One Nation Under God" and Allah is another name for God, so that's all irrelevant. This idiot doesn't know any damn thing but, because he had a hit song once, we have to hear his idiotic crap from time to time. He needs to change his name from "Kid Rock" to "Crack Rock," because he has to be on the rock in order to not know how damn stupid this is.

   
And now... it's time to finish laundry so I have clothes to wear in the morning.

It's been raining outside and my cats are most put out about it.

Especially Jenny. She seems to think that the sound is a full-scale alien invasion or something. If she's downstairs, she's on high alert... staring out the windows and bouncing around from chair to chair. Upstairs she's staring at the ceiling. Eventually she will fall asleep, but then at some random moment snap awake and start staring at the ceiling again. Like she forgot and then remembered again.

Since I can't really do much while I'm laying here making sure my cats aren't freaked out, I decided to surf the internet for cat stuff. Starting with this video of a guy taking his cat camping in the rain. An activity which would cause my cats to lose their damn minds...

You're welcome!

I had a heck of a Friday. Could not catch a break. By the time I finally made it home, I wanted to take a half-bottle of sleeping pills and go to bed.

But first I ran outside to do a bit of yard work before it gets pitch black. Ordinarily I wouldn't, but it's supposed to rain this weekend. Not in the morning, but there's no way I'm getting up to work in the yard on a Saturday morning. So best to get it over with now.

Now I'm even more tired.

But, ironically, now I'm too tired to sleep. And so I'm watching comedy videos on YouTube so my brain can fade out. It started out random, but then I started watching every video that Rory Scovel has ever released...

   
Now I need to cook dinner. But I'm too tired to do that so I guess I'll have a bag of potato chips.

Still too tired to sleep though.

Sorry I'm so late posting. I've been spending my free time lighting a fire under my Washington State political representatives in an attempt to make them DO THEIR FUCKING JOB AND DENOUNCE HAKEEM JEFFRIES AND CHUCK SCHUMER. The status quo has got to go.

Along the way I have been active on social media, doing my part to elevate voices that are opposes those Democrats who are digging in their heels to compromise down the mandate they've been handed.

A recent comment I got was that I was being uncivil because I was railing against Cindy Hyde-Smith and Virginia Foxx.

I'm the one being uncivil.

Well, gee. What do you call what this vile old hag is dishing out?

Yeah, fuck her. I'm giddy with the prospect of her losing her seat, so sue me. Alas, the race hasn't been called yet... but finger's crossed.

In other news, I've been thrilled to see Dave Columbo calling out the bullshit coming out of Hakeem Jeffries pathetic ass...

He's not alone. A lot of people are calling him and Chuck Schumer out on their bullshit. I have already contacted my worthless Senator, Maria Cantwell, my tiresome Senator, Patty Murray, and my annoying Representative, Kim Schrier. And, for good measure, I contacted Representative Pramila Jayapal... no, I'm not in her district, but she's fucking pissing me off. Every one of these people should be loudly and immediately stating that they are not supporting Hakeem Jeffries and Chuck Schumer FOR ANYTHING.

And if they don't? They can pack their shit and get out of the way too.

This week I'll be diving into a game I started playing this past Saturday on Halloween.... Arkham Horror, The Card Game. I played the original years and years ago and enjoyed it, but there was so much stuff available out there that I didn't even know where to begin when it comes to buying in. So I decided to pass.

But then earlier this year Fantasy Flight announced a new Chapter 2: Core Set which created a jumping on point for new players and collectors. This was perfect for me because it meant I wouldn't have to sell my home to afford all the older Arkham Horror content. For anybody unfamiliar, this is a game of fighting evil in a Lovecraftian horror setting...

Because there wasn't much stuff released yet, I picked up the new Arkham Horror, The Card Game: Chapter 2 Core Set, the Children of Blood small expansion, the Marie Lambeau investigator deck, and I pre-ordered the Traces to Nowhere scenario pack which just arrived last week...

I told myself that if I end up loving the game, I'll buy the remaining investigator decks (Tommy Muldoon, Carolyn Fern, André Patel, and Miguel De La Cruz). So let's take a look, shall we?

The game itself can be fairly complex and things can get really big very quickly. Usually I find myself playing two-handed solo rather than true solo when it comes to cooperative games like this, but the prospect feels a bit daunting. So I started out with the core set's first scenario... Brethren of Ash: Spreading Flames using the recommended core box investigator pre-built deck: Joe Diamond...

I ended up winning the scenario... barely. Probably because I have such limited experience with the game and it was quite a while ago (I'd imagine it wouldn't have been very challenging to experienced players). I'm looking forward to the second scenario: Smoke and Mirrors. And I can already see how I will want to try the first scenario again using a different investigator.

Ultimately this is a fantastic game. Suitably spooky, nicely immersive, and there's a puzzley aspect I enjoy about it. The art is mostly okay and the cards are quality. About the only disappointment is that the cards have to lay down in the box because the included dividers are too tall...

This makes zero sense, and I don't get why they wouldn't have just made the box taller so you can use the dividers as intended. As if that wasn't bad enough, if you sleeve your cards they are a bit tight in the box tray, which is also kinda stupid. You have to wonder what they were thinking. It's as if the people designing the packaging don't understand the hobby.

Fantasy Flight has laid out their plans for future Chapter 2 releases, and it's not without controversy...

• SMALL CAMPAIGN EXPANSIONS. The heart of Arkham Horror: The Card Game is the campaigns. These are overall story arcs which are made up from scenarios. Small campaign expansions will have three scenarios. Children of Blood is a small story in three parts.
• LARGE CAMPAIGN EXPANSIONS. These are much like the campaigns from the original Chapter 1, but instead of having eight scenarios, they will now have only five scenarios. This is upsetting to a lot of existing players who like the longer-form narrative which 8 scenarios can give you. And I totally get that. Why would Fantasy Flight Games cut down on the core concept of the game which players love so much? Probably just being cheap (and it's like... WHY?!? it's just a bunch of cards!). Apparently the small and large campaign expansions will alternate on the release schedule.
• SCENARIO PACKS. This is a short single scenario belonging to no overall campaign, like Traces to Nowhere that I bought above.
• INVESTIGATOR PACKS. These are the player cards which allow you to play (or replay) a campaign from a different perspective, a different difficulty, and having different powers, like Marie Lambeau that I bought above.
• DECKBUILDING EXPANSIONS. The most interesting concept of deckbuilding games is the ability to mix-and-match the cards in your player deck to suit your playing style. Mix objects. Mix abilities. Mix allies. Mix everything and anything within the rules of the game to play the way you want to play! It's why I've been loving Marvel Champions so much. I'm not quite there with Arkham Horror yet (having just started!), but hopefully by the time they release some deckbuilding card sets, I will be.

Because Arkham Horror LCG and Marvel Champions are both designed by Fantasy Flight Games, there's some similarities how the game works. In many ways, Arkham feels like a more grown-up, challenging, and difficult version of Champions, which is kinda nice. If I'm up for a challenge? Arkham. If I want to decompress and enjoy myself? Champions.

What I'm wondering is whether or not some independent amateur game designers will bring back 8-scenario campaigns to give away for those players who miss a longer, more engrossing story. It seems a safe bet. Whenever the publishers drop disappointment on a beloved game, the community seems to step up when needed. All you need to take advantage of it is a way to print and cut cards, and there's lots of places for that.

   
POSITIVES: Tried and true gameplay that is loads of fun. Everything about the way it's been designed is made to flow nicely and make sense. The immersion is great, and the writing in the campaign book is atmospheric and impressive. The replayability takes a hit since the campaigns are always the same, but being able to play through with new investigators will give you a new experience, and being able to design your own decks gives it much better replayability than you'd think. And when you get bored of it, you you can just buy new content.
NEGATIVES: The art is mostly okay, but sometimes not very good at all. You'd think for a game with horror in the name they would come up with creepier, darker, and more inventive art than they did. Maybe it's cost-cutting to hire newer and less-experienced artists... but that just makes cheaping out on the campaign length even more inexplicable. That being said, it's all perfectly playable... unlike the box and tray, which fail at the one thing it's supposed to do. There's also a lingering feeling that you just didn't get your money's worth given how expensive the game is, which is why I've dropped the score a point.
   
Arkham Horror The Card Game, Chapter 2: Core Set (Fantasy Flight Games)
★★★★★★★★★☆
BLOGOGRAPHY GAME WEEK WEDNESDAY SCORE: 9 out of 10.

This is very disappointing. Where is the horror? My comment on the intro video is this: "A deckbuilding expansion to play with what? I started playing Arkham Horror LCG with Chapter 2, and all I have is the 3 scenario introduction, a 3 scenario mini campaign, and a single scenario pack. Everything from Chapter 1 is sold out. — This is Marvel Champions all over again. Absolutely no consideration for new players just getting into the game. Put your old stuff back in print so people who want to play have options other than spending a fortune on eBay for the stuff you've abandoned."

Maybe I should knock off another star? Couldn't we have gotten a new campaign before deckbuilding cards?

I am increasingly hostile towards politics, in general, and the political parties, specifically. Republicans have zero interest in making things better for the American people and every interest in making things better for corporations. Democrats have an interest in making things better for the American people, but they are near-worthless at getting anything done. They love nothing more than doing fuck-all so that they have something to run against in the next election cycle. It's a vicious circle which is more about maintaining wealth and political power than serving those who elect them.

Last night was a predictably massive response swing to the fucking horrific policies of the Trump Administration. People's lives are measurably harder with new wars from the "No More Wars President"... heinously more expensive from the "Cheaper Groceries on Day One President" (not to mention the "I Don't Know How Tariffs Work President")... then capped off by the "I Only Give a Shit About Making Myself Richer And Don't Give A Fuck If You Get Poorer President"... etc. etc. etc.

Democrats didn't experience a "blue wave," so much as a fucking blue tsunami.

But Republicans shouldn't be too upset. Unlike your party that elects people who go for the throat and get shit done, Democrats will cling to the status quo. At least I assume so, since that's all they ever do. Maybe I'll be pleasantly surprised!

My personal favorite election of the night was Dr. Abdul Al-Sayed winning Michigan away from corrupt piece of shit Mike Rogers. The worry, of course, is that Abdul is a Muslim and is going to conquer the country with Sharia Law. Which is so fucking absurd as to be laughable. Indonesia is the country with the largest Muslim population on earth... and Sharia Law is not a governing factor at all. But I've been there and have seen it in person, so I can't be scared over what a bullshit concept it is. Abdul ran on "Money out of politics. Money in your pocket. Medicare for all." Which is great... I love it... except he's going to be fighting his party every step of the way. Crusty assholes like Nancy Pelosi and my own Senator Patty Murray will fight tooth and nail for their right to suck Big Pharma and Insurance Lobby dick for cash. I wish the fuck they could get the hell out of the way, but they are career politicians who don't want meaningful change. Good luck, Abdul. You'll need it.

I thought that James Talarico had a near-impossible task ahead of him turning Texas (of all places) blue... but, then again, I underestimated how disgusted Republicans would be with total fucking piece of shit Ken Paxton. Had it been just about anybody except Paxton, I think Texas would still be red. No fucking clue what in the hell Republicans were thinking by running the asshole, but it will make for an interesting change for the Lone Star State. Now if only they would get rid of Ted Cruz. I'd pay serious money not to have to see his fucking face ever again.

What's funny to me is that a lot of times I wasn't rooting for Democrats... I was rooting against Republicans. Let's take a look, shall we?

• There was one Democrat I was rooting against... John Fetterman. But since he wasn't in a race, the best we could get was a Democratic majority which would make that fucking turd completely irrelevant. Fortunately, that's exactly where we're at. Get fucked, dipshit.
• I was going to say there was a second Democrat I was rooting against, but I don't know what the fuck Haley Stevens is supposed to be. She ain't a Democrat, that's for sure. What I love is that it's pretty obvious the plan all along was for her to appear at an Abdul Al-Sayed rally and endorse Mike Rogers. Except her own staff, who fucking hate her, warned Abdul's people which got her disinvited. Then she tried to salvage her plan by siding with Rogers because there was no way somebody named "Abdul" could win, right? Right?!? What a fucking idiot.
• Nancy Mace. Jesus, I won't be shedding any tears over her getting purged from politics. But the best part of her loss? The winner, Nancy Lacore, is a retired Navy ADMIRAL who was fired by incompetent fucking piece of shit and all-around pathetic waste-of-space, Pete Hegseth. Glorious. Hopefully having somebody who actually respects our troops in office will offset Hegseth, who very clearly does not.
• Susan Collins. Don't let the door hit your ass on the way out, you repugnant fuck. Or do. I don't really give a shit so long as you're gone.
• Rex Miller. When people who deserve to go down in flames actually go down in flames, it's a good day. This asshole belongs in prison. Not for the hearsay about him holding a gun to his ex-wife's head... but for the verifiable publishing of a photo of his nude daughter online. Republicans are constantly accusing people of being pedos WHEN THE CALL IS COMING FROM INSIDE THE HOUSE! I love the Democrat who ran this race. He's an ironworker named Brian Poindexter, and he feels like somebody who will work hard to make American lives better.
• Darline Graham. I do not understand at all how the asshole sister of a fucking dead asshole is considered qualified to take over her brother's seat. She's beyond stupid in all the areas somebody in this position has to be smart. "National security is not my thing" is a hell of a thing to say when you don't know your ass from a hole in the South China Sea. And don't get me started on her fucking DISGUSTING treatment of Jack Smith that was as stupid as it was embarrassing.
• Mike Collins. Such a fucking unserious troll. I was disappointed that he managed to muster 40% of the vote when up against Jon Ossoff.
• Aaron Flint. I accidentally came across this disingenuous, lying, transphobic asshole while I was Googling for something entirely unrelated to Montana politics. Then became obsessed with the idea of him losing. I didn't think his opponent, Sam Forstag, had a chance in hell (a Democrat IN MONTANA?!?), but I had hope. And here we are. First Democrat in 30 years or something like that. I guess you can never underestimate the power in running against an asshole.
• Greg Abbott. Because fuck that fucking woman-hating, anti-science, racist fuck.
• Zach Lahn. This arogant, disrespectful, ignorant ass losing to Rob Sand was deliciously satisfying in all the best ways.
• Vivek Ramaswamy. Saving the best for last, this piece of shit weaponized his opponent's rape when she was a little girl by her stepfather by dragging out the mother who stood by him. This asshole can't fuck off far enough. What a repugnant piece of shit. One of my favorite moments was finding out that Amy Acton didn't accept his concession call. And why should she? He's so far fucking below her that acknowledging he even fucking exists is too much. If there's a hell, I hope Vivek gets stuck in the worst corner of it. Get fucked, stay fucked.

I'd love to be able to add terminal fucking bitch Cindy Hyde-Smith to the above list, but her race is too close to call. This literal ghoul is one of the biggest pieces of shit in politics. How the fuck her race can be a dead-heat when she's such garbage is beyond comprehension...

Keep in mind... this is a Senator from FUCKING MISSISSIPPI, a state known for a history of LYNCHING, where she said PUBLICLY that she'd be happy to attend a public hanging. Good fucking GOD how do people like this get elected? Racist, anti-woman, trash. She's fucking trash. I hope to God that Scott Colom manages to maintain his razor-thin lead to prevail over whatever this gawdawful asshole is supposed to be.

Another race too close to call... Lauren Fucking Boebert. She has got to be, without a doubt, one of the stupidest, most-ignorant, and ill-informed US Representatives to ever give a hand-job in a public theater. Though, if I'm being honest, I will kind of miss her if she loses. Her entertainment value as the village idiot is almost too good to lose...

I mean, this... this... holy fuck, what is this?...

Wait. I take it back. It's just too fucking humiliating to the country that something this fucking idiotic is representing people here. WHAT THE FUCK, COLORADO?!?

And don't even get me started on Virginia Ann Foxx. That fucking waste of space is a non-stop parade of shit, and I'm hoping she falls under the recount threshold so I don't ever have to hear that hag's rude-ass, foul-mouthed, decrepit bullshit again.

Sadly, Tom Cotton kept his seat in Arkansas. What a fucking anti-American racist piece of shit. SLAVERY WAS A NECESSARY EVIL?!? WHAT THE FUCKING FUCK???? His being an Army veteran has done a lot of heavy lifting throughout his career, and I was ready for him to finally be removed. He's a special flavor of stupid who often unleashes idiocy that has no basis in reality, and only cares about being some kind of dim-witted attack dog more than being principled or right.

But anyway...

I am going to end this way-too-long political rant nobody wanted with this: If Democrats reward Chuck Schumer and Hakeem Jeffries with Speaker or any other election benefit, they are more fucking stupid than I thought. These clowns didn't contribute in any meaningful way to what happened on Tuesday. On the contrary, both of them did everything they could to stop it from happening. These two zeros are exactly who I'm talking about when I say that status-quo Democrats need to be shoved aside by those who want to actually get things done.

And so...

See you in two years, when we'll do this shit all over again!

I guess I put away the sonic spikes and the mole repellent away too fast. Neither of them work perfectly... but they do slow the critters down. And without the deterrent? The little bastards are back with a vengeance.

This is a massive one. 8-inches tall and about 16-inches across. I'm guessing that directly underneath is a major burrow or something...

About 12 feet away is this smaller one...

In the back yard, there's a little fucker that's poking an insane amount of holes...

And then this morning there's an all new molehill next to my sidewalk...

Everybody asks me why I don't poison them, but I could never bring myself to do that. Drive them away, sure. But kill them just because they happen to be in my yard? Nope.

Next year we'll give sonic spikes and repellent another try... and then make sure I keep them out until the snow falls.