Thanks, dumbass government

Our brilliant county government has decided that having multiple, private garbage collection companies for residents to choose from, was inequitable, so it decided to take over trash collection, starting July 1st.
The cost of trash collection will be added to our property taxes, with the first 18 months of collection to be paid up front.

First, there are many people who do not need weekly trash collection. We just barely need it because there is a free trash drop off site on my way to work. I could easily bring my trash there, if I wasn't so lazy. There are many people; the elderly, single people, who just don't generate that much trash. My brother in law saves money by having a deal with his neighbor, where he brings his one bag of trash to their bin.

The second consequence is this: Mrs S forgot to bring our bin to the curb in time for pickup this week. So she called our current service to ask them to pick it up later in the week when they are in the area. We have had to do this in the past and they have been accommodating.
Not so much now. They know they have received the last payment from us they are ever going to get, so they basically told her to go pound sand.

Lessons Learned

1) Never go out on a Thursday, when you have to work on Friday.

2) When the insanely hot teenage waitress proceeds to take your empty plate away, and your wife asks, "Do you want to lick it?", just say, "No".

$55 !?

I loaded the canoe onto my pickup and hauled it to the closest landfill. I was shocked to discover that they charge a minimum of $55 to drop anything off.
I thought people dropped off washers and dryers and hot water heaters and it cost something like $10 or $15.
So I brought the canoe home. I'm going to have to cut it up (fortunately it's plastic, not aluminum) and drop it in the dumpster at work.

Yardwork Continues

I planted four more of the Ligustrum Lucidum bushes in the backyard, bringing the total to six. That's one of them above. They are currently about 1 meter tall. According to Wikipedia, they grow up to 25 meters tall.