April 2019 Archives

Done with lunch - back to work

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Running a couple of errands and working in the yard today.

Change in plans

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Was going to head to the farm for today - left some paperwork up there that I need. Turns out that I-5 was shut down for a few hours - traffic accident with one fatality and multiple injuries. From the Stanwood Camano News:

1 dead in 8-car crash on Interstate 5 near Conway
One person is dead and several others are injured after an eight-vehicle crash near Conway.

As of 8 a.m., Interstate 5 is shut down at Exit 221, said State Patrol trooper Heather Axtman. The backup stretches several miles to at least in south Mount Vernon.

The crash occurred about 5:30 a.m., Axtman said, during what appeared to be a normal traffic slow-down.

Even though it has been reopened, it will still take hours for the normal flow of traffic to resume. Staying down here for the night. Have a meeting Wednesday so up to the farm after that.

Heh - claims

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Found this over at Mostly Cajun:

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Fun times in California

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The progressives have spent all of their money on social justice programs with little to show for it (human feces, homelessness). The only problem is that this takes money away from basic infrastructure and although you can let things slide for ten years or so, any longer and it will take a lot more money to rebuild than if things were properly maintained in the first place.

Case in point - from Denny at Grouchy Old Cripple.
GOC links to an article at the Wall Street Journal which is now behind a pay-wall:

California Blackouts
California continues to descend into Third World status. The latest step is planned blackouts.

No U.S. utility has ever blacked out so many people on purpose. PG&E says it could knock out power to as much as an eighth of the state’s population for as long as five days when dangerously high winds arise. Communities likely to get shut off worry PG&E will put people in danger, especially the sick and elderly, and cause financial losses with slim hope of compensation.

Blackouts. They’re not for Third World nations anymore, just states run by Dimocrats.

In October, in a test run of sorts, PG&E for the first time cut power to several small communities over wildfire concerns, including the small Napa Valley town of Calistoga, for about two days. Emergency officials raced door-to-door to check on elderly residents, some of whom relied on electric medical devices. Grocers dumped spoiling inventory. Hotels lost business.

Too bad. So sad.

PG&E is “essentially shifting all of the burden, all of the losses onto everyone else,” said Dylan Feik, who was Calistoga city manager until earlier this month.

The Utility News website: Utility Dive has more:

PG&E revises wildfire mitigation plan to remove hard inspection and improvement deadlines
PG&E's wildfire mitigation plans are facing fresh scrutiny after the utility's revised proposal noted the scope of proactive de-energization efforts and sought to remove inspection and action deadlines.

I love that bureaucratic double-speak: proactive de-energization efforts - would it hurt them too much to just say intentional blackouts? And then there is this howler: and sought to remove inspection and action deadlines  - we want you to trust us when we say that everything is just fine and dandy. 

A little bit about scope:

The revised plan also provided more details about the potential for widespread blackouts, in the event it must proactively shut down some transmission lines in times of high wind. PG&E said it has "expanded the scope" of its Public Safety Power Shutoff (PSPS) program to include high voltage transmission lines.

"If these high voltage transmission lines are de-energized during a PSPS event, the interconnected nature of the grid could result in a cascading effect that causes other transmission lines and distribution lines — potentially far from the original fire-risk areas — to be de-energized," the utility said.

That means areas far from high-risk zones, like San Francisco or San Jose, could be de-energized.

This will get people's attention as well as lead to wide-scale rioting. Why didn't they just budget for known expenses for maintenence and not blow all their money on alt.energy and shutting down safe and carbon neutral nuke plants.

Another long day

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Just got back from coffee and post office - getting ready to head North to return the thatcher and vacuum.

Paying bills and doing laundry today as well as working outside. Up to the farm tomorrow.

Actually feeling pretty good - not as sore as I thought I was going to be.

Enough time-wasting - back to work

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Really stiffening up sitting here. Going to get the equipment cleaned and loaded. Fire up some charcoal for the grill and putter in the garage for a bit. Maybe time for a nice cold beer.

The Palestinians - a history

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A fascinating look back at the origins of the Palestinian people in 1947 and their constant refusal of statehood. Their leaders are doing this to themselves and then crying to the general public that they are aggrieved.

From The Washington Free Beacon:

How the Palestinians Created Their Own Plight
It is easy to forget that, in 1947, when the United Nations recommended the creation of a Jewish state in Mandatory Palestine, the international body also recommended the creation of an Arab state—what would today be a national home for the Palestinians. The idea was to partition the land into two separate entities—in other words, a two-state solution. Indeed, in 1988, the Palestine National Council described the partition resolution as what "still provides those conditions of international legitimacy that ensure the right of the Palestinian Arab people to sovereignty." Yet at the time of the resolution, the Arabs—no one used the term "Palestinians" then—boycotted the U.N. Special Committee on Palestine, which the General Assembly empowered to make recommendations about the future government of the territory, rejecting both the partition and a single, binational state. Then the Arabs completely, and unambiguously, rejected the General Assembly's partition plan, believing that, once the British left Mandatory Palestine, they would defeat the Jews and control the entire area. Of course the Arabs failed, despite the help of several armies. The Jewish state of Israel, established in 1948, endured, and the Palestinian Arabs, who could have had their own state, remained stateless.

Since then, the Palestinians have repeatedly turned down offers of statehood. First, they did not seek the West Bank when Jordan controlled it from 1949 to 1967. Only when the land was back in Israeli control following the Six-Day War did the Palestinians again call it disputed. Twelve years later, Israel worked to offer the Palestinians autonomy, which would have been a major step toward full independence, to no avail. Then in 2000 and 2008, Israel offered the Palestinians control of virtually all of the West Bank and the Gaza Strip, with a capital in East Jerusalem. Each time the Palestinians rejected the offer, even waging a violent uprising against the Israelis following the failure in 2000. One would be hard-pressed to find another national independence movement, beyond the Palestinian one, that has turned down formal offers of statehood in the territory they claim. Indeed, the Palestinians have, time and again, set new standards for stubbornness.

And yet, despite this history, most of the world seems to blame Israel for the Palestinians' situation. Just look at the recent wave of articles and comments assailing the Jewish state that followed Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's election victory earlier this month. Naturally, the New York Times led the charge, "reporting" that, with Netanyahu's reelection, Palestinian families see "no light at the end of the tunnel." In a front-page feature, the Times discusses how the Palestinians are despairing about the stalemate in the peace process. Importantly, the article notes that many Palestinians see the Palestinian Authority, or P.A., for the corrupt, ineffective regime that it is, and that at least some want to make peace with Israel.

Much more at the site - this is all a matter of the historical record. These are facts you can look up. Another fact is that Palestinian "leader" Yasser Arafat studied in Moscow for nine years before moving back to become their leader. His operation was bankrolled by the USSR, specifically the KGB, which feared a strong Israel and wanted to destabilize the region.

Get woke - go broke

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I had written two days ago about living Gillette-free because of two of their advertisments. This was in the context of an item of note from the president of Levi's. Looks like Gillette is paying for their virtue signalling - from Red State:

Gillette Is Feeling The Financial Burn Thanks To Their “Toxic Masculinity” Ad
Proctor & Gamble are experiencing better than expected profits in every area…except the male grooming products section of Gillette, and few people should be surprised.

Before the Super Bowl, Gillette released an ad that insulted men with social justice/feminist based narratives about toxic masculinity. Even things such as wanting to talk to a pretty girl or boys wrestling in the yard were considered negative things that needed to be dealt with. Gillette finished the commercial by indicating that “some men” don’t do this and that we should all be like these “some.”

Needless to say, it didn’t go over well. Gillette received a well-deserved societal spanking for its sexism.

The article quotes this paragraph from Market Watch - a good numbers source. Talking about the overall numbers for P&G - the owners of the Gillette brand.:

The good news is that sales grew 5% organically—that is, without help from acquisitions or currency exchange—whereas the Street was looking for 3.7%. Products for skin, fabrics, and home led the way. But sales of grooming products, including Gillette, slipped 1%, continuing a long string of declines. Margins disappointed. The upside earnings surprise came from non-operating items, like a tax-rate change.

Here is the second advertisement from Gillette that really turned me off (and a lot of other customers) - from Ad Age:

GILLETTE DEFENDS IMAGE OF PLUS-SIZE MODEL AFTER ACCUSATIONS OF PROMOTING OBESITY
Gillette has defended a social media post for its Venus razor product featuring a plus-size model, after it caused a furore online. The Twitter post, which appeared on April 3, features U.S.model and influencer Anna O’Brien, aka Instagrammer Glitter and Lazers, in a bikini, accompanied by the words “go out there and slay the day.”

Gillette immediately came under fire both from people accusing it of promoting obesity and others who mocked the brand and trolled the model with cruel "fat-shaming" comments. 

I do not see anyone slaying the day - I see someone who is going to lose 20-30 years of their life due to reversable health problems. Her condition is not normal and to accept her health as it is shows some very convoluted thinking.

Whew - done

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Got the yard mowed, vacuumed and de-thatched. Tons of thatch - here is the lawn after de-thatching. I had already vacuumed up the grass clippings after mowing so what you see is all thatch. One of the biggest accumulations I have ever seen. The fact that neither the vacuum nor the de-thatcher had any power feed made pushing them around all the more work. I am going to be feeling this tomorrow - already feeling it now. It is going to look really good in two months once the grass has been re-seeded and sprouting.

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I bumped up the contrast a bit on the second image so you can really see the difference between the gray thatch and the green grass. Going to wait for this to dry for a couple of days and then pick it up with a rake.

Defrosting a couple of bratwurst for dinner - have them with home-made sauerkraut and stone ground mustard. I have some potato salad in the fridge so that will be dinner (plus a couple beers (for theraputic reasons only)).

Quick surf and then clean the equipment and load it into the van to return tomorrow.

Out the door

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Coffee, post office, a bit of breakfast and then home to work. Looks like a gorgeous day.

That is it for the night

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Tired and long day tomorrow wrestling 400 pound pieces of yard equipment.

Some good news from Sri Lanka

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From CNN:

10 civilians and 6 suspected terrorists killed in police raid in Sri Lanka
Ten civilians -- including six children -- are dead along with six suspected terrorists after a shootout between police and alleged militants late Friday in eastern Sri Lanka, authorities said.

At least two suspected terrorists are on the run following an explosion that witnesses told CNN turned a house in Sainthamaruthu "into fire."

And a bit more:

Earlier Friday, authorities had seized a large cache of explosives, 100,000 ball bearings and ISIS uniforms and flags from a garage a few miles from the shootout.

And how they were discovered:

According to Aliyar Mohamed, who lives opposite the alleged bomb-making garage, the building was rented to people from Kattankudy.

"The owners ... realized there was suspicious stuff going on here, then police came here. The place was rented out two to three weeks ago," he told CNN.

"They (the tenants) came here claiming to start a slipper factory, and the owners saw the materials but didn't understand what they were. But after the Colombo bombings, and with the people being from Kattankudy, they then reported them to police."

Good news - they want to martyr themselves and recieve the 72 white grapes (or raisins) of exceptional purity after death? Let us facilitate that meeting whenever and wherever possible.

Home for the evening - busy day

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The forecast was not good for today and they were right. Played hooky from doing the yard work and went to the town of Sedro-Woolley for their Timber to Tech Exposition. As I was heading North, the forecast weather hit hard - gorgeous squall line complete with a couple prominent examples of Virga.

20190427-skagit.jpgThis was shot about five miles North of Stanwood in a place I like for bird watching. Taken around noon. I left the Exposition around 3PM and was greeted with a light hailstorm. Cleared up after that and had a gorgeous sunset.

Back to work tomorrow - stiff as a board today though. I did feel the yardwork - those machines are heavy. It feels good to be working out though.

But of course - Chicago

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I would expect nothing less - from Chicago's PBS affiliate WTTW:

CPS Chief Sends Child to Private School
Chicago Tonight has learned that the new head of the Chicago Public Schools, Forrest Claypool, sends his child to Francis W. Parker, an exclusive, private school in Lincoln Park. Claypool likely would have made the decision to enroll his child months before Mayor Rahm Emanuel tapped him to take over the ailing school system. The CPS Board of Education approved Claypool's appointment to the top job in late July. Parker's deadline for incoming high school students to confirm their enrollment is in March.

Chicago Tonight has reached out to Claypool’s office for comment and has not yet received a response.

You were seriously expecting this elitist to do anything different?

Sending a message to Massachusetts - from The United States Attorney's Office, District of Massachusetts:

Massachusetts District Court Judge and Court Officer Indicted for Obstruction of Justice
A Massachusetts District Court Judge and Trial Court Officer were indicted today in federal court in Boston on obstruction of justice charges for preventing an ICE Officer from taking custody of an alien defendant.

Good - they violated Federal Law by doing this. They need to pay for their crimes. More at the site - one paragraph:

“This case is about the rule of law,” said United States Attorney Andrew E. Lelling. “The allegations in today’s indictment involve obstruction by a sitting judge, that is intentional interference with the enforcement of federal law, and that is a crime. We cannot pick and choose the federal laws we follow, or use our personal views to justify violating the law. Everyone in the justice system – not just judges, but law enforcement officers, prosecutors, and defense counsel – should be held to a higher standard. The people of Massachusetts expect that, just like they expect judges to be fair, impartial and to follow the law themselves.”

No cherry picking - obey all the laws.

Never a conscious decision

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Just didn't like the way they fit or wore. Been wearing Carhart pants for well over 20 years. Fit me well, comfortable and last a long long time. If I wore Levi Jeans, I would be finding an alternative after seeing this:

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Every single business I have owned or managed, I always kept it free of politics or personal opinion. Places I have worked - restaurants, Microsoft, an engineering company, etc... have always been the same. You do not bring politics into the workplace unless the work being done is political.

I stopped using Gillette products after they got "woke" with their two advertisements. I would be doing the same for Levi's if I still used them.

Good news - guns

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Good news from CBS News:

Female gun ownership and the rise of fashionable "carrywear"
When former NRATV host Amy Robbins started training for a marathon four years ago, she felt nervous, she said, after a passing car slowed and followed her jogging down the rural backroads outside a Texas suburb.

Nothing happened, and Robbins called the episode "anticlimactic," although she soon realized she wasn't the only woman concerned about her safety when running outside by herself. When she started searching for clothes to help carry her gun, she said she couldn't find anything as cute as her Lululemons. "There's no functional clothing to help women carry around self-defense tools," Robbins told CBS MoneyWatch.

So Robbins founded Alexo Athletica in 2017, billing it as an athletic "carrywear" company for women who want to conceal guns on their person. While the brand's "Signature Pant" retails for about the same as your Lululemon or Athleta leggings, it also has nine pockets designed for your gun, knife and pepper spray — along with your keys and smartphone.

It's a controversial line of business, but a profitable one, according to Robbins, who won't share specific numbers but said last year's inventory was sold out for five months and sales so far this year are nearly triple last year's rate. Alexo's chic messaging to "carry with confidence," blending "carrywear" with female empowerment, has helped the brand connect with some millennial women who take to Instagram to show off their purchases.

A lot more at the site. Here is an excerpt from this 2007 essay by Marko Kloos:

When I carry a gun, you cannot deal with me by force. You have to use reason and try to persuade me, because I have a way to negate your threat or employment of force. The gun is the only personal weapon that puts a 100-pound woman on equal footing with a 220-pound mugger, a 75-year old retiree on equal footing with a 19-year old gangbanger, and a single gay guy on equal footing with a carload of drunk guys with baseball bats. The gun removes the disparity in physical strength, size, or numbers between a potential attacker and a defender.

And of course, the great Robert Anson Heinlein:

An armed society is a polite society. Manners are good when one may have to back up his acts with his life.

And there is always Dr. John R. Lott's book (Amazon link): More Guns, Less Crime: Understanding Crime and Gun Control Laws, Third Edition (Studies in Law and Economics)

Kind of hard to argue the numbers. Not suggesting that people just go out and get whatever catches their eye - you need to visit a gun range, sign up for an introductory pistol class and take it from there. The class will teach you basic handling, the four laws*, and you will get the chance to fire many different kinds of guns so you can figure out what ones you like (me? all of them!)

*Four Laws are from Jeff Cooper:

    1. All guns are always loaded. Even if they are not, treat them as if they are.
    2. Never let the muzzle cover anything you are not willing to destroy. (For those who insist that this particular gun is unloaded, see Rule 1.)
    3. Keep your finger off the trigger till your sights are on the target. This is the Golden Rule. Its violation is directly responsible for about 60 percent of inadvertent discharges.
    4. Identify your target, and what is behind it. Never shoot at anything that you have not positively identified.

Diet coke time

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Saw the cold beer in the fridge and was sorely tempted. Got the grass mowed. Vacuum next and let it sit overnight and mow again. Each cycle I set the blades a bit lower - want to get it down to an inch in length at most.

Got the vacuum and thatcher through Monday afternoon so will do this cycle a couple more times. Rent an aerator and a top-seeder next weekend if the weather looks decent (which it does - for now).

Going to feel this tomorrow...

Quote of the day - sadly true

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"The more corrupt the state, the more laws"
--Tacitus

Bill Gates on alt.energy

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Bill skewers alternative energy:

Tip of the hat to Vanderleun

Dump run and then to Mt. Vernon to get the thatcher and lawn vacuum.

Going to be a busy couple of days - looking forward to it.

Now this will be interesting - Iran

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From PJ Media:

Senior Revolutionary Guard Corps Commander Reportedly Defects to the U.S.
It seems we may have an important defector from the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, a senior commander no less. The news first appeared on Banafshah Zand’s indispensable website on the crimes of the Islamic Republic of Iran:

Brigadier General Ali Nasiri, head of the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps Protection Bureau, is said to have fled to the West after a fallout with the representative of the Supreme Leader in the IRGC.

On Thursday, April 11th, during a meeting among the senior IRGC intelligence officials, Nasiri and Hossein Taeb, the representative of the Supreme Leader to the IRGC came to blows. The following days, when Nasiri failed to show up for work, it was revealed that he had actually left the country.

General Nasiri was said to have fled with hundreds of classified documents, which could be of great value to the United States, to which Nasiri is said to have defected.

Very cool - took a lot of guts to do this but the sooner the nation of Iran stops sponsoring terrorism, the better and more peaceful the world will be.

Looks like things are colder than usual - a few weather reports from Russia (Google Translate):

We beat records!
The Far East set the following minimum temperature records for April 22: the city of Svobodny (Amur Oblast) -10.6 (previous record: -8.9 in 2001). In Blagoveshchensk it was -7.5 degrees. The last record was recorded in 1937 and amounted to -7.1. The Jewish Autonomous Region is also with new records: in the village of Ekaterino-Nikolskoye -6.6 degrees, and the previous record was set in 1991 -6. On the European territory of Russia, the situation is also non-standard. Thanks to the anticyclone, the northern regions are well heated, and in the south the temperature is noticeably below normal. Here it is no higher than +15, and at night the frosts to -1… -6 were again noted. In Stavropol, a new record for the minimum temperature for April 22: the air has cooled to -2.2! The previous record was in 1993 -1.5 degrees.

Record cold Volga
IA "Meteonovosti" / 13:37 Sunday, April 21 anticyclone , which spreads over the southern half of the European territory, in the last days provide a record cold weather . The average daily air temperature is 4-6 degrees lower than the multi-year values. In a number of settlements of the Volga region, which has already been a day in a row, changes are made to instrumental weather observations .

Return of winter in Central Russia
In Central Russia, the last Sunday, April 14, was the coldest day since the beginning of the month. In the south of the Moscow region, in the Tula, Kaluga and Ryazan regions, the maximum temperature did not exceed +1.

The winter of the
The cold front was the culprit in the weather changes at the beginning of the week in Siberia and the Urals. The temperature in Yekaterinburg on the night of April 17 was a record low for these days, -10.4 degrees. And in the afternoon the temperature only approached zero, It was -1.2 degrees. On average, the day temperature almost 11 degrees was below the climatic norm. Moreover, spring spoiled the inhabitants of the Urals with the spring heat, in April the thermometer columns already reached 15..19 degrees. Moreover, a sharp cooling was accompanied by snow with blizzard, ice and gusts of wind.

And it is not just Russia - West Australia:

Good Friday cold blast in Albany brings April snow to WA for first time in 49 years

Morocco:

Snowfall and thunderstorms this weekend in some parts of Morocco

Alaska:

Another record snowfall, sunshine returns soon

Turkey:

Black winter came back! Snowfall was effective in many cities yağ Breaking news
While the spring weather was expected to come forward, the news of the snow started to come from many parts of the country. While Kars and Van, who had been living in the Black Winter for months, turned white again, many cities of the Central Anatolia Region encountered snow in April. Although it is closed in the season, it is stated that the ski slopes can be re-opened in Uludag where heavy snowfall continues.

Tell me again about that global warming theory...

And she is gone - Baltimore Mayor

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From Baltimore's CBS affiliate WJZ:

Where Is Baltimore Mayor Catherine Pugh?
Where is Baltimore Mayor Catherine Pugh? It’s the question buzzing around the city as the FBI and IRS raid Pugh’s home, City Hall and several other locations tied to her Thursday. But, no one has seen the mayor even though she’s supposed to be recovering from pneumonia.

And her attorney's statement:

Her attorney Steve Silverman said he will advise her on “options.” He did not say if he will advise her to resign.

He says Pugh is still physically ill and emotionally saddened. He says she apologizes for letting down the people of Baltimore with any appearance of wrongdoing.

I absolutley love that last line: "with any appearance of wrongdoing". That sums up a liberal perfectly. They are not concerned about accountability or performance, they are only concerned with appearing to do the right thing. Keeping to the correct narrative.

Our quiet sun - cosmic rays

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UPDATE BELOW:

Interesting article at NASA's Spaceweather:

A Perfect Storm of Cosmic Rays
Ten years ago, NASA reported a “perfect storm of cosmic rays.” During the year 2009, radiation peppering Earth from deep space reached a 50-year high, registering levels never before seen during the Space Age.

It’s about to happen again.

Ground-based neutron monitors and high-altitude cosmic ray balloons are registering a new increase in cosmic rays. The Oulu neutron monitor in Finland, which has been making measurements since 1964, reports levels in April 2019 only percentage points below the Space Age maximum of 2009:

Much more at the site. Another indication that our suns output is unusually low. Quiet sun = global cooling.
Here is the website for the Oulu Cosmic Ray Station

UPDATE - a perfect example of Quiet sun = global cooling. From the Detroit Free Press:

Snow expected in metro Detroit this weekend. We give up.
Enjoy the warm, dry weather this afternoon, because it's about to change.

Rain – possibly even snow –  is expected to start tonight and last into next week, according to the National Weather Service in White Lake.  Minor flooding is possible, the agency said.

Showers are expected to start Thursday after 5 p.m., becoming heavy at times, and last into Friday.

Rain and light snow is expected for Saturday night. 

What catastrophic warming?

Because President Trump said so:

From The Baltimore Sun:

FBI raids Baltimore City Hall, home of Mayor Catherine Pugh and other locations connected to her
Federal law enforcement agents fanned out Thursday across Baltimore, raiding City Hall, the home of embattled Mayor Catherine Pugh and several other locations as the investigation into the mayor’s business dealings widened.

Dave Fitz, an FBI spokesman, confirmed agents from the Baltimore FBI office and the Washington IRS office were executing search warrants at those locations Thursday morning, as well as at least three other addresses associated with the Democratic mayor. It was the first confirmation that federal authorities, as well as state officials, were investigating the mayor’s activities.

Pugh remained inside her home during the raids, a police source confirmed.

Shortly after the raids began, Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan called on Pugh, who has taken a leave of absence as mayor, to resign. The Republican governor had asked the Maryland Office of the State Prosecutor on April 1 to investigate Pugh’s sales of her self-published “Healthy Holly” children’s book series to the University of Maryland Medical System while she was on its unpaid board of directors.

The Governor is a Republican but the last Republican Mayor was Theodore R. McKeldin who served one-term from 1963 to 1967. Baltimore is #5 in the top cities for murder rates - 10.6 times the overal USA average.

Fun times

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A couple of items that bring me joy:

From American Thinker:

The walls are closing in on Obama
The truth of violations of law by the Obama White House, long buried, is being excavated by two private groups.

Judicial Watch has obtained testimony from a top FBI official that Hillary Clinton's home-brew server emails were found in the White House. This means that Barack Obama's illegal handling of classified information contained in those emails is closer to being exposed. This implicates him in the same felonies committed by Hillary Clinton that James Comey falsely claimed "no reasonable prosecutor" would pursue.

From The Washington Free Beacon:

‘Nonpartisan’ Mueller Investigation-Focused Group Tied to Dem Dark Money
A "nonpartisan" group launched to "protect" Special Counsel Robert Mueller's investigation into President Donald Trump that is now pushing for the release of the full, un-redacted Mueller Report is tied to a liberal dark money organization.

Protect the Investigation, which describes itself as a "nonpartisan" initiative formed to "educate the American people about the importance of the special counsel investigation and its findings," is a project of the Sixteen Thirty Fund, a Washington, D.C.-based 501(c)(4) "fiscal sponsor" that is used as a pass-through entity for big money Democratic donors.

Protect the Investigation is a registered trade name—or fictitious name—by the Sixteen Thirty Fund with the D.C. Department of Consumer and Regulatory Affairs, records show. The name was registered on June 28, 2018 and is scheduled to expire on June 27, 2020.

Doing my happy dance...

And back

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Got the equipment reserved for tomorrow, picked up some food at the coop, Costco and Lowe's. Swung by the butcher so the pups are gnawing away happily. They are now getting very excited when I pull into that driveway.

Got a sandwich from the coop deli so munching on that for a while and then yard work...

Out for the day

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Coffee, post office and then up to Mt. Vernon to reserve the thatcher and vacuum for tomorrow.

Working in the garage - another welding project and putting in a sink.

A bit overcast this morning but the forecast is for sunny for the weekend so perfect lawn weather.

From The Babylon Bee:

Ocasio-Cortez Calls For Boycott Of 'Sesame Street' After Discovering Show Is Sponsored By Numbers
Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez has announced that she is leading a boycott against the popular show Sesame Street.

“I was watching it the other day,” Ocasio-Cortez explained to the press, “because I love Abby Cadabby -- and then at the end, it mentioned the show was sponsored by the number seven, and I felt betrayed.”

Ocasio-Cortez identified numbers as the main opposition to all of her plans, such as giving everyone free health care and her Green New Deal. “Numbers just want people to suffer and die,” Ocasio-Cortez said. “Numbers are basically alt-right. And it felt like a stab to the heart -- a place you don’t want to get stabbed -- to see Sesame Street accept money from them.”

Ocasio-Cortez says she has no problem with Sesame Street accepting sponsorship from letters, as she uses those all the time in her clapback tweets, but urges everyone to stop watching the show while it associates itself with numbers. She is calling for the show to cut ties with the numbers one, two, three, five, seven, eight, and others she “might have forgotten.” She also wants the show to remove the cast member The Count, whose support of numbers, she says, makes him “basically a white-supremacist” even though “he is purple.”

Just as a heads up - the Bee is a satire site.

Air pollution

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You would think that with all the draconian environmental rules, California would be a shining example of how government control is able to keep pollution at bay. From USA Today:

Bad air days on the rise: The nation's most polluted city is ...
California's reign as the U.S. state with the worst air pollution continues as Los Angeles is again the nation's smoggiest metro area, according to a report released Wednesday.

LA isn't alone when it comes to smog-choked cities in California: seven of the nation's top 10 smoggiest cities are in the Golden State, including other sprawling cities such as San Francisco, San Diego and Sacramento.

Los Angeles has had the worst smog for 19 years of the 20-year history of the report.

Just sayin'

Trying to peel back the layers of the deep state is meeting with resistance - from ProPublica:

The Facts Behind Obama’s Executive Privilege Claim
Yesterday, the Obama administration invoked executive privilege to prevent the release of certain documents to Congress related to Operation Fast and Furious, the arms-trafficking sting gone awry that came to light last year. (As we've detailed, federal agents lost track of hundreds of guns sold to suspected gun smugglers, many of which later turned up at crime scenes in Mexico).

The fall-out from the failed operation has been an ongoing battle between Attorney General Eric Holder and congressional Republicans, in particular Rep. Darrell Issa, R-Calif., chair of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform. Issa wants documents related to the Department of Justice's investigation of the operation.

The committee voted yesterday to recommend that Holder be held in contempt of Congress for not turning over some documents. Holder says that his office has already released thousands of documents, and that the others that Issa wants are internal communications protected by executive privilege.

In the midst of all this back-and-forth, we lay out exactly what the executive privilege is, and what it means in this case.

In plain English, people in the Obama administration fucked up. They tried to run an ill-conceived, poorly thought out operation and it blew up in their faces. They are now trying to cover it up. This is not the first such instance and it will not be the last to see the light of day.

Border Patrol Agent Brian Terry was unavailable for comment.

Another quote

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"If you don't know what your top three priorities are, you don't have priorities."
--Donald Rumsfeld

Back home & change in plans

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Had a burrito for dinner and two pints of beer at my local.

Staying down here for a few more days - the most recent weather forecast has OK weather through Saturday and then gorgeous weather Sunday and Monday. The grass is a disaster. I killed all the moss that was growing there so now it is all splotchy and there are several species of grass growing. I put some herbicide on the tufts of these grasses and will be renting a thatcher and vacuum over this coming weekend. Get the grass mowed to within an inch of its life and then thatch and clean it all up. Come in next weekend with a top seeder and reseed everything.

There is a local rental place that will rent Friday through Monday for their single-day rate and their equipment looks well maintained.

After Tuesday, the forecast goes back to overcast, 50's and raining so I need to (literally) make hay while the sun shines.

Back to work

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Diet Coke break is over.

Public Health - three headlines

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Trash Talking

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From NPR comes this story of a garbage war:

Philippines' Duterte Talks Trash (Literally) To Canada, Threatening War Over Garbage
Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte wants Canada to come get tons of trash that was wrongly sent to his country — and he's threatening extreme steps if Canada doesn't clean up the situation. "We'll declare war against them," Duterte said Tuesday.

The president was referring to a large shipment of municipal trash that has sat in Manila since its arrival in 2013 and 2014. The more than 100 shipping containers had been declared to hold recyclable plastic. But when the doors were opened, customs officials found "household trash, plastic bottles and bags, newspapers, and used adult diapers," according to Filipino news outlet ABS-CBN.

"I will not allow that kind of s***," Duterte said at a news conference Tuesday, adding that Canada has attempted to provide educational grant money to the Philippines — on the condition that it also accept the garbage.

Duterte said he wants the trash gone within a week, even if he has to return it by force.

I like Duterte - zero bullshit. All of the Philippine people I ever met have been really nice. Would not mind visiting there sometime. Besides, they have the world's only pipe organ made out of Bamboo.

Good - Sherrif Scott Israel arived at the scene and then hid during the Marjory Stoneman High School shooting. He showed cowardice and failed to do his job. He got booted and took his claim to the Florida Supreme Court. He lost. From the South Florida Sun-Sentinal:

Florida Supreme Court blocks former Broward Sheriff Scott Israel from getting his job back
Suspended Broward Sheriff Scott Israel lost his fight Tuesday to have the Florida Supreme Court return him to duty.

Now, in all likelihood, it’s up to the voters of Broward County to return him to office — if they want him back.

The court ruled that Gov. Ron DeSantis had the constitutional authority to suspend Israel in January for his agency’s failure to adequately respond to mass shootings at Marjory Stoneman High School in Parkland and the Fort Lauderdale airport.

The decision all but ends Israel’s attempt to get his job back before the 2020 election.

The airport shooting was in 2017, Parkland in 2018. From the article:

The failure of the sheriff’s office to implement policy changes after the airport incident was one of the factors that led to the casualty rate at the high school, according to an independent commission that analyzed the response to the Parkland massacre.

Sounds pretty damning to me. The parents have justifiably responded. From NPR - April 11th, 2019:

'There Were Failures': Parkland Victims' Families File 22 Lawsuits Alleging Negligence
Families of Parkland school shooting victims are filing at least 22 lawsuits against Broward County's school board, sheriff's office and more, alleging they failed to prevent the attack that left 17 people dead and another 17 injured.

Attorneys representing families of those who were killed or wounded at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School on Feb. 14, 2018, argue several organizations and individuals were responsible for the massacre. In addition to the school district and sheriff's office, other targets in the lawsuits, announced Wednesday, are Henderson Behavioral Health, which provided mental health services to confessed shooter Nikolas Cruz; former Stoneman Douglas security guard Andrew Medina, who was the first to see Cruz on campus but did not call a "code red" lockdown; and former Broward Sheriff's Office Deputy Scot Peterson, the school resource officer who hid during the shooting rather than entering the school building to confront the shooter.

Good riddance to a failed cop.

Quote of the day - Plato

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"Wise men speak because they have something to say; Fools because they have to say something."
--Plato

Back to work

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Nice day today so mowing the lawn and putting on another batch of grass-killer.

UPDATE BELOW

No idea who and where but sheesh...

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Found it - Tommy Fung from Hong Kong. Nice work! Good article (and lots of images) at Design you Trust.

Heh - lost and found

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Another great one from A. F. Branco:

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Other people's money - Bernie

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From the Washington Examiner:

Bernie Sanders to supporters: Average donations aren't high enough
Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders is concerned that supporters aren't donating enough money, according to a new email sent from his campaign Tuesday afternoon.

"The bad news is, our average donation amount is far less than anyone else. This month our average donation is lower than it’s ever been — right around $14," the socialist 2020 candidate wrote. "That means it takes 200 donations to match 1 max-out check being scooped up at a swanky fundraiser held by one of our opponents."

But I thought that Senator Sanders was a socialist - he is not supposed to be concerned about money.

Public health in the news - Hep. A

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From Seattle station KOMO

Homeless man sick with hepatitis A, public health launches outreach efforts
New concerns are emerging in Seattle's homeless crisis. A man living on the streets is sick with hepatitis A and now public health workers are scrambling to keep the virus from spreading.

On Thursday, teams from Public Health – Seattle & King County began outreach at various shelters and encampments where the man might have gone to offer free vaccinations and help with thorough cleaning.

A bit more:

Public health workers are moving quickly because the man who got sick marks the first time in years that King County has seen hepatitis A in the homeless community.

And the consequences:

Left unchecked, the virus can cause severe liver damage. King County saw 14 hepatitis A cases in 2018. There have been eight cases so far this year but the latest one is the first to affect the homeless community.

More here - a nasty disease and highly contagious through feces and contaminated food: Hepatitis A

Cool - one of my favorite pieces

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Bach's Triple Concerto is being played on period instruments in a local venue a couple weeks from now.
From the Stanwood-Camano News:

Salish Sea Early Music Festival: Baroque instruments are featured through June 21 in concerts performed in the Fir-Conway Lutheran Church, 18101 Fir Island Road, Conway.

    • Bach’s Triple Concerto: Wednesday, May 22, Carrie Krause (baroque violin), Courtney Kuroda (baroque violin), Steven Crewell (baroque viola), Caroline Nicolas (baroque cello) and Jonathan Oddie (harpsichord) perform one of the greatest orchestral works of the 18th century in this program of concerti.

Acoustics are a wee bit muddy but the playing is spot on - simply gorgeous:

Rudy Giuliani tweets

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I love it:

From America’s number one crime family - so true.

Bonkers - from Campus Reform:

'Fat Sex Therapist' compares fitness trainers to Nazis, children's dieting to sexual assault
“I truly believe that a child cannot consent to being on a diet the same way a child cannot consent to having sex,” Sonalee Rashatwar, whose Instagram username is "The Fat Sex Therapist," proclaimed Thursday from the main stage of St. Olaf College.

She continued, “I experience diet culture as a form of assault because it impacts the way that I experience my body.”

These comments and more were made in the context of her two-hour speech, sponsored by St. Olaf College’s Wellness Center, Women's and Gender Studies Department, and Center for Equity and Inclusion, on the topic of “radical fat liberation.” The talk included assertions that fitness contributed to the recent Christchurch shooting, that people should "challenge" the rule of law, as well as the authority of and the police.

And this little gem:

“We should be critical of the use of science and the production of knowledge to continue promoting this idea that certain bodies are fit, able, and desirable...is it my fatness that causes my high blood pressure, or is it my experience of weight stigma?" Rashatwar asked. She then connected the science suggesting that obesity is unhealthy to Nazism, saying that "fatphobic" science is “often actually eugenic science....eugenic science is Nazi science.”

I love the reference to "eugenic science" with zero mention of one of the most racist and virulent eugenicists out there - Margaret Sanger, the founder of Planned Parenthood. 

People like this have zero use to us normals. They spend their life cloistered in the safe spaces of academia regurgitating their feelings and passing these off as intellectual discourse. If anyone puts forth a contradictory thought, they go into uncontrollable spasms and start screeching racism, sexism, whateverism.

A few videos and bed.

That didn't take long - it already sold. Anyway, English Blacksmith Alec Steele (yes really) finished making a series of 24 videos of him and Will Stelter making a Civil War Era inspired Cavalry Sabre. It is drop-dead gorgeous work and worth seeing this last video just to see what can be done with simple tools.

Sad but true

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A lot of men have lost their balls and think themselves better for it:

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And these people are getting votes?

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Talk about being toxic to America - from CNS News:

Bernie Sanders Says Boston Marathon Bomber Has Right to Vote
Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont, who is seeking the Democratic presidential nomination, told a CNN town hall on Monday night that "every person has a right to vote," even people who have been convicted and imprisoned for committing acts of murder and terrorism, even the Boston Marathon bomber.

On April 15, 2013, two pressure cooker bombs exploded near the finish line of the Boston Marathon, killing three people, maiming 16, and leaving many more injured. The surviving suspect, Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, was sentenced to death.

Sanders laid out his position on this in response to a pointed question posed to him by a Harvard student--who specifically asked if he would permit the imprisoned Boston Marathon bomber to vote. When moderator Chris Cuomo followed up to make certain Sanders really was saying "the Boston Marathon bomber should vote, not after he pays his debt to society, but while he's in jail," Sanders would not back down.

Sanders has never had a real job, has never made payroll or managed a business. He spent his 1988 honeymoon in the Communist U.S.S.R. How can he claim to represent us.

Some good news - measles

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From The Bellingham Herald:

Washington state bill limits measles vaccine exemptions
Washington state lawmakers voted Tuesday to remove parents’ ability to claim a personal or philosophical exemption from vaccinating their children for measles, although medical and religious exemptions will remain.

The vote comes as the number of measles cases nationwide this year has passed 600.

The measure now heads to Gov. Jay Inslee, who has expressed support for limiting exemptions. The state has seen 74 cases of measles this year. Most of those cases were centered in one county and involved children 10 or younger who were not immunized.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has reported that as of the end of last week, 626 cases of measles have been confirmed in the U.S. so far this year, up from 555 as of a week ago. While 22 states have reported cases, most of the nation’s cases are centered in New York City and in nearby Rockland County north of the city.

Great news - there is no rational excuse for denying your child protection against these potentially fatal diseases.

Back home for the night

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Ran an errand in Mt. Vernon and had dinner at the Chinese buffet - stopped at my local and had one beer. Tired - sleep in tomorrow, hit the gym and drive to Maple Falls for a few days.

Well crap - Sri Lanka

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From The Wall Street Journal:

U.S., India Warned Sri Lanka Weeks Before Easter Terror Attacks
Authorities here said an international terror group likely supported an obscure local Islamist group in carrying out a series of bombings that killed at least 321 people on Easter Sunday, weeks after the government had received warnings from the U.S. and India about a possible attack.

And the lawsuits start in 3... 2... 1...

Done for the day

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Got a bunch of stuff done - surf for a little bit and then heading out for a bite to eat.

An option for CAD/CAM

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Just ran into FreeCAD. It supports CNC operation and has a G Code post processor.

Autodesk offers a free version of Fusion 360 for small businesses, students and hobbyists but this is just a one year license and it is about $500/year after that. Be giving that a try in a while - maybe next winter.

Something in the air

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The Whidbey Island Naval Air Station is about 30 miles away as the crow flies.

Lots of jets flying today - do not know if this is a drill or if they are training for something but...

Where else can you find a cash-strapped state willfully putting an end to a reliable and safe source of revenue. From San Luis Obispo's The Tribune:

Will Newsom end oil drilling in California? Many environmentalists are betting yes
California’s legacy of oil drilling should be just that, many environmentalists argue – relegated to the history books.

They are urging Gov. Gavin Newsom to ban new oil and gas drilling in California and completely phase out fossil fuel extraction in one of the nation’s top petroleum-producing – and gasoline-consuming – states.

Environmentalism is a religion and not a science. It will be nice to see the pendulum swing back again. For California's sake, I hope this happens sooner rather than later.

A new town in Israel

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From The Jerusalem Post:

NETANYAHU: 'I WILL NAME A GOLAN TOWN AFTER TRUMP'
If Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has his way, alongside Katzrin, Ramot and Ramat Magshimim on the Golan Heights, there may someday soon be a community named Kiryat Trump.

Netanyahu, who on Tuesday toured the Golan with his wife and sons, said a community or neighborhood on the Golan Heights should be named after US President Donald Trump in appreciation for his decision last month to recognize Israeli sovereignty over the strategic plateau.

“I am here with my family and many citizens of Israel at the foot of the Golan Heights, happy with the joy of the holiday and our beautiful country,” Netanyahu said in a video post. “And there is more joy - a few weeks ago I brought President Trump’s official recognition of Israeli sovereignty over the Golan Heights forever.”

A very nice tribute to a truly great man.

Great news - US offering bounty

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From The Washington Free Beacon:

U.S. Offers $10 Million Bounty on Hezbollah Operatives
The Trump administration announced on Monday that, in a global first, it is offering up to $10 million in rewards for information leading to the disruption and arrest of terrorist operatives working for Hezbollah, the Iranian-backed militant group based in Lebanon.

Wonderful - about time someone did this. A bit more:

Hezbollah has been increasing its presence not only in regional hotspots such as Syria, but also across Latin America, where the group enjoys close ties to socialist and communist leaders known for their anti-American positions.

Even better - roll up the network of fellow travellers. A bit more:

"Hezbollah generates about a billion dollars a year from a combination of direct financial support from Iran, international businesses and investments, donor networks, and money laundering activities," according to information provided by the State Department.

Well funded - if we take away their rice bowl, the majority of these a**holes will dry up and blow away. There will always be a core group of sociopaths who distort religion or politics to justify their mental illness but if we take their funding away, their camp followers will find other things to do.

Liking President Trump more and more.

And that is it for me for tonight

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Feeling downright sleepy.

A bit of an upgrade

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The earthquake earlier this afternoon has been upgraded to magnitude 5.5 from 4.6 - almost double the strength (the magnitude numbers are logarithmic). No tsunami and the video camera I had running for about an hour didn't catch anything unusual in the wave pattern.

Back home

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The speakers turned out to be in perfect condition so it was a very sweet deal - very happy.

Got a bite to eat at The Farmhouse - really good traditional American food - whole roast turkey, beef pot roast. That sort of thing. My Mom and Dad bought a place on Whidbey Island when they first moved to Seattle and that was one of their favorite places to eat. Also, driving to Whidbey, I saw that my favorite telescope vendor: Anacortes Telescope & Wild Bird is now selling and fixing guns as well. They were closed when I drove past but I will have to stop in and check them out.

Surf for just a little bit as I have an early emergency radio network tomorrow morning. A very simple check-in - no drill this time.

From Business Insider:

Starbucks is installing needle-disposal boxes in locations across America following OSHA penalties and worker concerns about drug use in bathrooms
Starbucks' efforts to address opioid use and improperly disposed needles in its bathrooms are expanding.

Starbucks stores in at least 25 US markets have installed needle-disposal boxes in bathrooms in recent months. By this summer, the chain aims to have installed sharps boxes in bathrooms in all regions where such action has been deemed necessary.

Stopped going there 25 years ago - independent coffee is best.

Back to work

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Raining lightly but I have rain gear so will be working outside.

Heading over to Whidbey Island later today for a Craigslist deal. Someone is selling a pair of Event Audio 20/20 BAS speakers for a decent price. I already have a pair for my music computer. Having another pair for my video/media computer will be perfect. Same speakers deliver the same frequency response so I can move files from one to the other and they will sound the same. Perfect for editing.

Happened at 1:27 - it is now 1:38.

No tsunami warning for now. The quake was shallow - only two miles.

Heading outside with the video camera in a few minutes.

This is unreal - charter schools

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From The Tennessee Star:

Tennessee Officials Who Fight School Vouchers Can’t Use Proper Grammar in Written Communications
Public school officials in Tennessee who protest school vouchers insist public schools are by far the best option for children, especially versus charter schools or private schools.

Yet in their written communications some of them can’t seem to put a proper sentence together.

Take Etowah City School Principal Brian Trammell, for instance.

Trammell’s email to his teachers and other staff members this month begging them to lobby against school vouchers contained almost a dozen grammatical errors.

Do as I say, not as I do. And this is a school principal?

Heh - the Mueller nothinburger

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Back home

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Car is ready for its next 5,000 miles and picked up enough rebar to secure the hoop house against small hurricanes.

Swung by the thrift shop and scored on a nice older music player - a Gateway DMP-X20 - 20Gig of storage so I can now have tunes in the van. I was looking at upgrading the radio in it (basic AM/FM with an aux input) but with sheet-metal sides, the noise level is so high that close listening is impossible and installing the radio involves removing most of the dashboard. I can plug this into the auxiliary input and play parts of my library. For $3.00 it was a no brainer.

Eating some lunch and surfing - get the hoop house up this afternoon if it stops raining. Working indoors if not.

Out the door

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Got an appointment with the Toyota dealership for the Highlander. Will be getting some rebar lengths for anchoring the hoop house while out. Working at home today, radio network tomorrow morning and then to the farm for a few days.

Circling the drain - PRNYC

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The People's Republic of New York City is heading into cloud cuckoo land - from Mediaite:

NYC Mayor de Blasio: ‘We Are Going to Ban’ Glass and Steel Skyscrapers
New York Mayor Bill de Blasio said on MSNBC Monday morning his city will ban “inefficient” steel and glass skyscrapers as part of their Green New Deal.

While Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez’s Green New Deal sputtered in Washington D.C., her home city of New York has embraced key pillars of the plan.

When asked about it on Morning Joe, de Blasio outlined the proposal.

“We are making the Green New Deal come alive here in New York City,” he said. “It’s three very basic ideas. One, the biggest source of emissions in New York City is buildings.”

De Blasio said “strong mandates” for buildings will “guarantee we reduce emissions” — and buildings that do not comply by 2030 will face fines “as high as $1 million or more.”

“We are going to ban the classic glass and steel skyscrapers which are incredibly inefficient,” he continued. “If someone wants to build one of those things they can take a whole lot of steps to make it energy efficient, but we’re not going to allow what we’ve seen in the past.”

The mayor added that New York’s government is going to get all its energy from renewable sources “in the next five years.”

Great idea Bill. And this will be funded how? Oh - haven't thought that far ahead have you. Typical...

Yet another case of progressive virtue signalling.

Spent the last bit of time committing Festuca-cide. Spraying herbicide on a 10X20 patch of the lawn. Planning on planting flowers there - specifically flowers for bees and hummingbirds. Most of these are perennial - the annuals will re-seed so it will be low maintenance once established.

Got the charcoal started and finish off some stuff while it is getting ready.

From Town and Country:

The Royal Family Celebrates Queen Elizabeth's Birthday With Sweet Messages on Instagram
This morning, Queen Elizabeth turned 93. The British monarch celebrated her birthday by attending Easter church services in St George's Chapel at Windsor Castle alongside several members of her family. Prince William and Kate were in attendance, as were Princess Anne and her two children, Peter Phillips and Zara Tindall and their spouses. Prince Andrew, Princess Beatrice, and Prince Edward and his family were all there as well.

But there were still a few missing faces in the crowd. While Harry walked down the hill alongside his cousins, his wife Meghan stayed home, likely as she is just days away from her due date. Prince Philip also skipped this morning's events, as did Prince Charles and Camilla, who are currently in Scotland.

But regardless of who was at the church this morning, the royal family also turned out for the Queen's big day on social media, sharing tributes to their matriarch on Instagram.

God Save (and Bless) The Queen. She is one of a kind.

An interesting medical event

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From Nebraska's Omaha World-Herald:

Pothole jolts man's heart rate back to normal on way to Omaha hospital. Here's how that's possible
Most drivers get a sinking feeling when their cars clunk into crater-like potholes.

But one pothole did a passenger a favor when the ambulance he was in struck it, according to first responders.

Members of the Gretna Volunteer Fire Department on Monday were taking a 59-year-old man suffering chest pain to the hospital, a Sarpy County 911 dispatcher said.

The patient also had an abnormally high heart rate. While en route to Lakeside Hospital, the ambulance hit a pothole. The jolt returned the patient’s heart rate to normal, said Gretna Fire Chief Rod Buethe.

Entirely plausible - an electrical shock is the preferred way to defibrilate a heartbeat but a mechanical shock will work almost as well.

About ready for dinner tonight

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Was at Costco yesterday and saw that they had a house brand (Kirkland) of Bratwurst and remembered that I really liked them. Grilling two for dinner and have it with some braised cabbage with caraway seed. Getting in touch with my German roots (Mother's Father).

Whoops - hoop house 2.0

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I didn't dig the tubing deeply enough into the ground and some of them popped out - probably with the wind. Better to find out now than when it was full of plants. Looks great though. Going to get some short pieces of rebar tomorrow, pound them into the ground and put the tubing over them for an anchor.

Working on the van and cleaning out the garage a little bit.

Break over, back to work

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Setting the plants in the hoop house now - they will be a lot happier. The forecast is for rain and temps in the 50's. 

Taking the Highlander in for scheduled maintenence tomorrow. Radio drill Tuesday.

Doing a small repair on the van this afternoon too.

That is what President Obama promised America on his first day in office. Things rapidly went downhill from that moment - things that are just now coming to light. From The Federalist:

Obama’s Campaign Paid $972,000 To Law Firm That Secretly Paid Fusion GPS In 2016
Former president Barack Obama’s official campaign organization has directed nearly a million dollars to the same law firm that funneled money to Fusion GPS, the firm behind the infamous Steele dossier. Since April of 2016, Obama For America (OFA) has paid over $972,000 to Perkins Coie, records filed with the Federal Election Commission (FEC) show.

The Washington Post reported last week that Perkins Coie, an international law firm, was directed by both the Democratic National Committee (DNC) and Hillary Clinton’s campaign to retain Fusion GPS in April of 2016 to dig up dirt on then-candidate Donald Trump. Fusion GPS then hired Christopher Steele, a former British spy, to compile a dossier of allegations that Trump and his campaign actively colluded with the Russian government during the 2016 election. Though many of the claims in the dossier have been directly refuted, none of the dossier’s allegations of collusion have been independently verified. Lawyers for Steele admitted in court filings last April that his work was not verified and was never meant to be made public.

I would love to see the people behind Perkins Coie and Fusion GPS as they were getting money from all the Democrats - from Forbes Magazine - January 15 (during the government shut-down):

Allegations That Clinton Campaign Funded Trump-Russia Research Still Pending At Now-Closed FEC
A complaint that alleges Hillary Clinton's presidential campaign and the Democratic National Committee violated campaign finance law by steering money for opposition research through a law firm is still pending with the Federal Election Commission.

The FEC, which is not operating during the government shutdown, has yet to rule on the complaint made by Campaign Legal Center (CLC) that both organizations funneled the cash to Fusion GPS, the group behind a dossier compiled by Christopher Steele – the so-called "Steele dossier."

Steele is a former British security service operative who authored the report that included claims about President Trump's alleged links with Russia and allegations that the Kremlin may have incriminating evidence about the president's activities in Moscow.

Slowly but surely, these illegalities are coming to light. Wheels of justice and all that...

Heh - so true

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Building a hoop house today

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The rain has let up for a while so finishing lunch and heading out to build a hoop house for my vege starts.

Was very much surprised at the cost of CPVC pipe - I had purchased some a couple years ago and remembered that it was well under $2 for a half-inch by 10 foot stick. Yesterday, it was $3.70 each. Still I got the whole hoop house materials for under $40 so I am not complaining - this will turbo-charge my vegetables until it warms up and the components are 100% reuseable next year.

CPVC is Chlorinated polyvinyl chloride and is a lot less brittle than garden variety PVC pipe. Very springy so it bends into an arch nicely.

Music for this day

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One of my favorite George Frederick Handel pieces -  "I know that my Redeemer liveth" from the Messiah:

Tip of the hat to Peter Grant for the link.

From the London Daily Mail:

Six-foot pipe bomb is found at Sri Lanka's main airport hours after series of blasts killed at least 207 including five Britons in Easter Sunday terror attacks targeting Christians at churches and luxury hotels
A bomb was found and safely destroyed at Sri Lanka's main airport this evening just hours after co-ordinated attacks killed 207 people in explosions at churches and five-star hotels on Easter Sunday.

Eight blasts ripped through landmarks around the capital Colombo, and on Sri Lanka's east coast, targeting Christians, hotel guests and foreign tourists.

More than 450 people were wounded and five British citizens were among the dead.

A a six-foot pipe bomb was later found by air force personal on a routine patrol at the country's main airport Bandaranaike International, also known as Katunayake Airport or Colombo International.

I hope that these perps suffer the same fate as the 9/11 hijackers - from The Onion:

Hijackers Surprised To Find Selves In Hell
JAHANNEM, OUTER DARKNESS—The hijackers who carried out the Sept. 11 attacks on the World Trade Center and Pentagon expressed confusion and surprise Monday to find themselves in the lowest plane of Na'ar, Islam's Hell.

"I was promised I would spend eternity in Paradise, being fed honeyed cakes by 67 virgins in a tree-lined garden, if only I would fly the airplane into one of the Twin Towers," said Mohammed Atta, one of the hijackers of American Airlines Flight 11, between attempts to vomit up the wasps, hornets, and live coals infesting his stomach. "But instead, I am fed the boiling feces of traitors by malicious, laughing Ifrit. Is this to be my reward for destroying the enemies of my faith?"

The rest of Atta's words turned to raw-throated shrieks, as a tusked, asp-tongued demon burst his eyeballs and drank the fluid that ran down his face.

According to Hell sources, the 19 eternally damned terrorists have struggled to understand why they have been subjected to soul-withering, infernal torture ever since their Sept. 11 arrival.

"There was a tumultuous conflagration of burning steel and fuel at our gates, and from it stepped forth these hijackers, the blessed name of the Lord already turning to molten brass on their accursed lips," said Iblis The Thrice-Damned, the cacodemon charged with conscripting new arrivals into the ranks of the forgotten. "Indeed, I do not know what they were expecting, but they certainly didn't seem prepared to be skewered from eye socket to bunghole and then placed on a spit so that their flesh could be roasted by the searing gale of flatus which issues forth from the haunches of Asmoday."

Much more at the site - certainly a suitable fate for these misguided barbarians.

Out the door

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Done with lunch so heading out the door.

Decided to put in a small hoop house so I will get the parts for that when I go to Lowe's - looked at the forecast and it is just 50's, cloudy and blah for the next ten days - starting to affect my tomatoes and basil. Need to get them into a warmer location.

Back in two or three hours...

Going to have to try this one - gravy

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I don't agree with his politics (at least he apologised) but he comes up with some incredible recipes - check this out:

The Food Lab: Use the Oven to Make the Best Darned Italian American Red Sauce You've Ever Tasted
I've been hitting the sauce hard recently.

I'm talking red sauce here. You might know it as gravy. The Italian-American staple that launched a thousand restaurants. While its origins are undoubtedly in Italy, the slow-cooked tomato sauce served in the red-checked tablecloth restaurants up and down the East Coast (not to mention the homes in New Jersey) is as American as it gets.

This isn't a light and fresh pomodoro sauce. It's not the kind of sauce you throw together for a weeknight meal. It's not the sauce you heat up from a jar, and it's certainly not the marinara sauce that you apply sparingly to perfectly al dente spaghetti.

This is red sauce. The slow-cooked, rib-sticking Italian-American stew designed to fill you up with equal parts flavor and pride. It's the kind of sauce for which you open up the windows while you're cooking just to make sure that everyone else in the neighborhood knows what you're up to. It's the kind of sauce kids defend the honor of in grade school. It's the kind of sauce you want your meatballs swimming in, your chicken parm bathed in, and the sauce that you want not just tossed with your spaghetti, but spooned on top in quantities that'd make a true Italian cry out in distress.

Picking up the ingredients on my trip to the coop.

Happy 30th Birthday - Game Boy

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A cool little platform. I am not a gamer (prefer to create stuff, not live in someone else's reality) but this puppy certainly changed the world - from The Verge:

The Game Boy turns 30
On April 21st, 1989, Nintendo unleashed the Game Boy on the world, forever changing video games. The unassuming gray brick may not have been a technical powerhouse, but it helped take the idea of portable gaming mainstream, paving the way for the world of mobile gaming and hybrid devices like the Switch. Three decades later, The Verge is celebrating with a week full of stories that explore the many ways the Game Boy shaped the games industry and its importance as a cultural object. That includes looking at things like emulation, chiptune music, and the plethora of accessories and imitators the Game Boy inspired. You can keep up with everything right here.

A fun bit of history.

The Mueller Meltdown

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Sitting here on the sidelines watching all the liberals go nuts. I love it!

The thing to keep in mind is that Special Counsel Robert Mueller is not a friend of President Trump and if Mueller had found something - anything - actionable, he would have proceeded to go after him. Mueller spent two years and 25 Million of our dollars investigating and came up with nothing substantive.

This is so far off piste from the Democrats narrative that they refuse to accept his findings. A quick sample of headlines:

Heh - bless their little pointy heads. They sure are some kind of special...

And back from the races

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Had about 45 runners - this is only its third year and there has been minimal promotion so I would call this a good turnout.

We will be working with the race committee to communicate our observations. The runners had to cross two very busy streets and they really needed to have some Police or Fire Cadets there flagging traffic - Don and I did this for our station and it worked just fine (a yellow vest and a radio work wonders at getting people to do what you want) but this took away from our on-air time.

Stopped by the auction house to preview today's auction. They had a LOT of Matchbox toy cars - highly collectible but no tools or technology that caught my eye. I try to check each week though.

Cold and wet so working indoors - heading up to Burlington in a little while to the steel yard, the coop, Tractor Supply and Lowe's - stuff for the yard.

Out the door

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The race starts at 9:00AM so want to be in place (with coffee) well before.

And that is it for the night

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Got my handheld radio programmed and charging - got the auxillary antenna packed with the necessary adapters.

Time for a few videos and than another early morning...

Yikes - knocking at the door - Ebola

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I wrote this three days ago about people from the continent of Africa showing up along with all the other illegal immigrants from South America - who is funding this? Now we have this from Hal Turner:

20 Illegal Aliens from Congo Being "Monitored for EBOLA" at U.S. Border
A public health official in Laredo, Texas, said 20 Congolese migrants are being monitored for Ebola in shelters in his city and across the Mexican border in Nuevo Laredo, Tamaulipas.

Shortly after his announcement during a Laredo City Council meeting, the World Health Organization (WHO) considered declaring a “global emergency” in response to a massive outbreak of Ebola in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

“We have 8 Congolese right now in one of our shelters and a dozen in Nuevo Laredo,” Laredo Health Director Dr. Hector Gonzalez told the Laredo City Councilman George Altget during a council meeting on April 4. “For them, my concern was Ebola.” He said that due to the time element, the Congolese migrants were not developing symptoms of Ebola. “But, we’re on alert to check that,” he said.

This really scares me - you can be infectious for up to two weeks before displaying any symptoms, the disease is highly contagious and the fatality rate is about 80% even with excellent care. All it takes is one person walking through a crowded airplane terminal on a busy day.

Shocking - an editorial on CNN critical of President Obama - from Scott Jennings writing at CNN:

Mueller's report looks bad for Obama
The partisan warfare over the Mueller report will rage, but one thing cannot be denied: Former President Barack Obama looks just plain bad. On his watch, the Russians meddled in our democracy while his administration did nothing about it.

The Mueller report flatly states that Russia began interfering in American democracy in 2014. Over the next couple of years, the effort blossomed into a robust attempt to interfere in our 2016 presidential election. The Obama administration knew this was going on and yet did nothing. In 2016, Obama's National Security Adviser Susan Rice told her staff to "stand down" and "knock it off" as they drew up plans to "strike back" against the Russians, according to an account from Michael Isikoff and David Corn in their book "Russian Roulette: The Inside Story of Putin's War on America and the Election of Donald Trump".

Given that CNN has been ground zero for Trump Derangement Syndrome, I really wonder how this slipped by their censors editors. MS/NBC is right up there with them but CNN takes the lead in Orange Man Bad.

Long long long day today

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Twelve hours on the road. Got a lot done but it was heavy going. Rush hour heading South was not that bad as I was heading in the other direction but coming back? Wow... I left Seattle around 3:40PM and didn't get to Camano until around 6:15 or so (was hopeing to catch the library's 6PM closing so was aware of the time). With minimal traffic, the drive takes an hour tops.

It was good to meet face to face - an interesting project in the offing. Also stopped at  the Seattle City Light salvage yard (nothing caught my eye), Woodcraft (a dangerous place - little bit of everything), Seattle Pottery Supply (some castable refractory cement for Forge 2.0 - ribbon burner and open at both ends. My old forge is excellent but I am selling it and making some design changes in the new one), and got a bit to eat at Tai Tung's - this was a favorite place after an evening of music and clubbing. Henry was still working behind the counter and recognized me.

Stopped for two pints at a local and now home for the night - fed the dogs and fired up the computer. Surf for a little bit and then some videos. Early bedtime.

Planning to be down here for a couple more days - forgot that the Stanwood Chamber Easter 5k Fun Run is tomorrow and I will be participating in the radio communications for the event. I am also scheduled to be the operator for the state-wide emergency communications net next Tuesday. Up to the farm after that.

Out the door

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Back in the late afternoon...

From the UK Sun:

EASTER GETAWAY THREAT Extinction Rebellion eco-warriors plot to shut down HEATHROW tomorrow as millions start Easter Getaway
Activists - who have already caused chaos across the capital by blocking landmarks for the past four days - said they were "raising the bar" to target the busiest airport in the UK ahead of the long weekend.

In internal messages seen by the Sun Online, protesters were told: "Tomorrow we raise the bar. We are going to shut down Heathrow."

Rebels - who have already blocked Waterloo Bridge, Vauxhall Bridge and Oxford Circus in four days of illegal demos this week - vowed to "swarm" the airport.

The group described the dramatic new tactic as an "escalation strategy".

The plot threatens to throw the Easter plans of 800,000 passengers expected to travel through the airport into chaos tomorrow.

Extinction Rebellion spokesman Robin Boardman - the former public schoolboy who stormed off Sky News after host Adam Boulton called him "middle class and self-indulgent" yesterday - said: "This will be standard swarming process. If there are lots of us, there will be a low risk of arrest.

This organization has gotten very large and very well organised in the last couple of months. Who is funding them and what is their real agenda. I still think we need to bring back the pillory. Be kind and gentle about it - keep them in a nice warm jail cell for most of the time but lock them in the pillory in a very populous place for six hours/day and let them be mocked and harangued by the general public. You could bring in a nice revenue stream selling rotten tomatoes and eggs. Do this for a couple of months and I guarantee you these little turd-blossoms will change their mind.

Back from the meeting

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Skipped getting a pint - got some here so having that. Not as social but I need to be up early tomorrow - driving down near Tacoma to meet with some people at 10AM. Rush hour. Looking forward to the joy...

Heading over to YouTube for a little bit.

Came up with a name for my Blacksmith shop - Camano Island used to be called Crow Island and I love corvids a lot.

Crow Island Forge. My old shop was named Black Mountain Forge because it was situated at the base of Black Mountain so keeping the locale in the name. crowislandforge.com was available so got it. Nothing there yet - that will be a couple weeks in the making.

Done for the day

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Fix a bite to eat and then head over to the Stanwood fire hall for tonight's meeting.

Now this looks wonderful

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We focus on his hobbit books but J. R. R. Tolkien lived a very rich and interesting life. Comes out May 10th.

From Peter Grant at Bayou Renaissance Man:

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Quitting Facebook

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Planning to do this in the next day or so. Here are two reasons why - clickable headlines:

As for the last article - this needs to be burned away with hellfire. Very bad idea and there are already enough alt.social media sites already out there so that this will do nothing to block terrorist colaboration.

Unreal - they ordered it, they need to pay for it.From the Albuquerque Journal:

PRC decision blindsides Facebook, state officials warn
A state Public Regulation Commission decision Tuesday requiring PNM to bill Facebook for nearly half the cost of a new, $85 million transmission line could reverberate well beyond New Mexico’s borders.

State officials and economic development professionals say the decision could be seen as reneging on previous PRC commitments, causing a “chilling effect” on efforts to recruit more large companies to New Mexico like Facebook, which is building a massive data center in Los Lunas.

And a bit more:

PRC members, who voted 5-0 Tuesday to approve the order, contend that PNM cannot bill ratepayers for the transmission project because the line will not benefit retail customers, only Facebook and wholesale electric operators who need the transmission capacity to supply renewable energy to other markets.

5-0 is what I would call a firm decision. Makes a lot of sense - why should the public ratepayers have to shoulder the cost of building the infrastructure. The utility is only asking Facebook to pay for half the cost. Talk about a sense of entitlement. Disgusting. Planning to shut down my facebook account in the next day or so - I will open a new one for the blacksmithing activities but no need for a personal account.

Taking a break

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Stopped raining so heading out to do some yard work. There are a couple of beds with plants on their last legs - taking them out and putting in vegetables. The starts are doing well but it is time to transplant.

Dinner at home - got the Amateur Radio group meeting tonight.

And I am out for a bit

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Coffee, post office, library and a couple of things. Supposed to rain later today so sorting papers and working in the garage on a welding project. Meeting tonight.

And the Mueller Report is released

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Hey folks:

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Here: Report On The Investigation Into Russian Interference In The 2016 Presidential Election

All 448 pages. And this from President Trump's Director of Communications:

Indeed...

And it is open - Highway 20

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Great suite of photos from the WA State DOT - the highway closes every winter due to snowfall. Here is one with Mazama the mascot keeping watch at the pass:

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More here: SR 20 - North Cascades Highway A gorgeous drive and part of the 400 mile North Cascades Loop

Off to YouTube-land for a while

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Feeling sleepy - nothing planned for tomorrow. Work outside in the yard if it is not raining. Garage if it is. Sorting papers too. Meeting tomorrow evening, need to head South Friday and then up to the farm for a couple of days.

Clever design - spray gun

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Already have three spray guns that I use but this one has a nice design:

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Using a Mason Jar is genius - especially if you do short-run productions and need to reuse the same colors.

Oh crap - a copycat

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From The Washington Times:

Man with gas cans arrested at St. Patrick's Cathedral in New York
A New Jersey man has been arrested after entering St. Patrick’s Cathedral in New York City with two cans of gasoline.

Police say the 37-year-old man was stopped by security after he entered the landmark cathedral in Manhattan just before 8 p.m. Wednesday.

As the man was turned, police say gasoline spilled out onto the floor. Security then notified nearby police who questioned the man outside the church and took him into custody.

Police say the man was carrying over four gallons of gas, two bottles of lighter fluid and two butane lighters.

Police are still talking to the man, who claimed his minivan had run out of gas.

Run out of gas - yeah, that's the ticket...

Tacos were yummy

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Spaced out on thawing out some guacamole so used a portion of hummus instead. Not bad at all. Guilty of multiple cases of cultural appropriation and it never tasted so good. Went out for two pints of beer (culturally appropriating the Sumarians) afterwards. Drove (culturally appropriating a white German guy) back home for the night - surf and watch videos. Got three more music CDs from the library so digitized them. Now up to almost 18K individual tunes.

Measles in the news

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It is not going away anytime soon. This could have been prevented if people realized that the supposed link between the MMR vaccination and autism was promoted by someone with financial reasons to do so. Andy Wakefield did this specious "paper" and was drummed out of the medical profession (his right to practice medicine was stripped) and was funded by an insurance company which stood to profit.

Here are three clickable headlines:

Not vaccinating your kid is child abuse.

News I can get behind - brisket

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I love a good brisket. From Texas Hill Country:

Texas Research Scientist Says Brisket Might be Good for You
If it was perfected in Texas, you can bet someone from this state is proving it’s good for you. Such is the case for brisket and ground beef! Researchers out of Texas A&M have found that not only does it make for some of the tastiest food you’ll ever try, but (believe it or not) it comes with some health benefits too.

Their findings confirmed that high levels of oleic acid can be had in beef brisket. You want this because it lowers LDLs (the “bad” kind of cholesterol,) and produces high levels of HDLs (the good kind, which are said to promote better heart health). Dr. Stephen Smith, a research scientist from Texas A&M AgriLife Research, explained the findings. “Brisket has higher oleic acid than the flank or plate, which are the trims typically used to produce ground beef,” he said. “The fat in brisket also has a low melting point, that’s why the brisket is so juicy.” Researchers in this study have also found that the same applies to ground beef, but to a lesser degree.

Ran into this recipie last night - will be queing it up soon. Looks really good.
From Food Wishes: Easy Baked Beef Brisket – Slow and Low is Not the Tempo

Speaking truth to power

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From writerKurt Schlichter:

No Bueno - North Korea - a two-fer

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Just when things were going smoothly. First, from Associated Press:

North Korea test-fires a new tactical guided weapon
North Korea announced that it has test-fired a new type of tactical guided weapon.

The Korean Central News Agency says Chairman Kim Jong Un observed the firing of the weapon Wednesday by the Academy of Defense Science.

The agency reports that Kim said “the development of the weapon system serves as an event of very weighty significance in increasing the combat power of the People’s Army.”

Second, from Beyond Parallel:

Yongbyon: Movement of Specialized Railcars May Indicate Transfer of Radioactive Material
DigitalGlobe satellite imagery of North Korea’s Yongbyon Nuclear Research Facility acquired on April 12t shows the presence of specialized railcars near the Uranium Enrichment Facility and the Radiochemistry Laboratory. In the past these specialized railcars appear to have been associated with the movement of radioactive material or reprocessing campaigns. Elsewhere, throughout the facility, the level of activity appears to be typical of spring during the past several years. Continued spring snowmelt and runoff have maintained a high level of water in the Kuryong-gang, which continues to overflow the earthen dam adjacent to the 5 MWe and Experimental Light Water (ELWR) reactors.

And they did a bullet-list of key findings:

  • DigitalGlobe satellite imagery of North Korea’s Yongbyon Nuclear Research Facility acquired on April 12 shows the presence of five specialized railcars near the Uranium Enrichment Facility and the Radiochemistry Laboratory.
  • In the past these specialized railcars appear to have been associated with the movement of radioactive material or reprocessing campaigns. The current activity, along with their configurations, does not rule out their possible involvement in such activity, either before or after a reprocessing campaign.
  • IRT-DPRK Reactor: What appears to be a large construction crane is present on the road just west of the reactor building. No readily apparent reason for its presence can be determined at present.
  • Kuryong River Dam: The spring snowmelt and runoff noted in our previous report has continued to maintain a high level of water in the Kuryong-gang and water is still overflowing the earthen dam at several points. The current concern is that if this condition continues it may cause a significant breach that could quickly expand and erode major sections of the dam, which could appreciably degrade the quantity of cooling available to the reactors.
  • Radiochemistry Laboratory: Only notable activity is the presence of several vehicles in the vehicle maintenance area and what appears to be a tanker truck on the road south of the shipping/receiving building.
  • Uranium Enrichment Plant: The only notable activity is the presence of what appears to be a 20-foot shipping container in the utility yard on the west side of the facility.
  • Elsewhere, throughout the facility, the level of activity appears to be typical of spring during the past several years. 

Not good. Very glad that President Trump did not budge on the sanctions.

Antisemitism - who is funding this?

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George Soros is a key bankroller of this disgusting movement. From The Other McCain:

Who Is Funding Anti-Semitism?
One of the most remarkable claims the Left has made recently is that criticism of George Soros is an anti-Semitic conspiracy theory. Yet it is not a theory, but a matter of fact that Soros is an enemy of Israel, and that the left-wing billionaire has funded efforts to undermine Jewish conservatives and sabotage critics of radical Islam:

A massive hack of socialist billionaire George Soros’ Open Society Foundations [in August 2016] suggests that his various nonprofit organizations are little more than fronts for his many political activities. . . .
The hack by a group called DC Leaks, includes 2,576 files from various Soros groups from 2008 to 2016. . . .
In one of the purloined memos from 2011, titled “Extreme Polarization and Breakdown in Civil Discourse,” a nonprofit Soros group proposes conducting opposition research on a number of highly prominent American critics of radical Islam, including Pamela Geller, Frank Gaffney and Robert Spencer. It also targeted conservative activists and intellectuals David Horowitz, Daniel Pipes, Cliff May and former Vice President Dick Cheney’s daughter, Liz Cheney. All of them are strongly pro-Israel and have warned about the threat of radical Islam.
The memo suggests that the research was outsourced to the Center for American Progress (CAP), a leftist think tank that has “received millions of dollars in grants from Soros’ groups,” the Daily Caller’s Chuck Ross reports.
Oh yes, CAP also happens to have been founded by John Podesta, Hillary’ Clinton’s campaign chief. . . .
Meanwhile, the Jerusalem Post notes that some of the hacked emails show that the Soros Open Society Foundations’ stated goal was “challenging Israel’s racist and anti-democratic policies,” in part by “questioning Israel’s reputation as a democracy.” This is an old Soros trick: He spends money to delegitimize governments and others with whom he disagrees. . . .
In yet another revelation from the doc-dump, a memo called the “List of European Elections 2014 Projects” details the elaborate efforts of Soros’ well-funded global network to manipulate election outcomes in Europe. The memo includes over 90 Soros projects in Europe to influence election outcomes.

If it hadn’t been for Trump winning the 2016 election, Soros would have an ally in the White House, and much of the extremist rhetoric from the Left — smearing Trump supporters as anti-Semites and racists — is driven by the propaganda machinery that Soros has funded. Ace of Spades has remarked, “It’s weird that George Soros funds antisemitism and then cries ‘Antisemitism!’ when he’s criticized.”

Soros is Jewish by birth but he, as a teenager, aided and abetted the Nazis during WWII pointing out where his Jewish friends were living. Much more at the site.

Well darnit - IRS

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The meeting did not go in my favor and there is no path to escalate (although I will certainly Google this).

Oh well - would have saved me about $1K in tax payments this year.

Picked up some fixings and will thaw out a portion of pulled pork from the garage freezer - things are always better when eating tacos...

The Meuller (redacted) report gets released tomorrow - it will be fun to see the libs running around.

Out the door

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Meeting in Everett at 1PM - got a question with the IRS so meeting someone at their office. Coffee first - maybe two.

From Washington Examiner:

Bret Easton Ellis tells 'spoiled children' liberals to deal with Trump: 'He was elected president. Get over it.'
Now middle-aged, the enfant terrible novelist Bret Easton Ellis, has turned to nonfiction to mock the "childlike fascism" and "demented narcissism" of American liberals that helped put President Trump in the White House and left them facing "mental and emotional collapse."

For good measure, Ellis, 55, also denounces the "legacy media" in his new book "White" — originally due to be called "White Privileged Male" — describing it as "a moral disaster for the country" that had covered Trump in the 2016 with such bias and "absolute cluelessness" that it assisted him. The Washington Examiner obtained a copy in advance of its publication Tuesday.

Already facing a backlash from the liberal intelligentsia he disdains — a Q&A with the New Yorker was intensely hostile — Ellis has also been praised for his devil-may-care contrarianism. Interview Magazine described "White" as containing "searing points about how the national obsession with being liked at all costs and the silencing of opposing voices under the banner of inclusivity can create its own American hellscape."

Must be a good book if he has the mainstream media that stirred up. There was an eBook available at my local library - put a hold on it.

Hard to write a book about nothing

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From the Daily Beast:

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez Hired Agent and Explored a Book Deal
Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY), who has gained nationwide appeal and become infamous on the right for her unapologetic progressive politics, was recently in talks to write a book, The Daily Beast has learned.

Multiple publishing industry sources told The Daily Beast that the freshman Democrat retained the talent agency CAA and took meetings earlier this year about writing a potential book. The project, one industry source said, was ultimately pulled, but for reasons that remain mysterious.

The talent agency didn't get to be that big by being dummies - there is nothing there. Literally.

Removing Bill Clinton's legacy

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An interesting development - from the Associated Press:

US allowing lawsuits over properties seized by Castro’s Cuba
The Trump administration on Wednesday opened the door for lawsuits against foreign firms operating on properties Cuba seized from Americans after the 1959 revolution.

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said he won’t renew a bar on litigation that has been in place for two decades, meaning that lawsuits can be filed starting on May 2 when the current suspension expires. The decision could affect dozens of Canadian and European companies to the tune of tens of billions of dollars in compensation and interests.

“Any person or company doing business in Cuba should heed this announcement,” Pompeo said.

And a bit more:

Pompeo’s decision gives Americans the right to sue companies that operate out of hotels, tobacco factories, distilleries and other properties Cuba nationalized after Fidel Castro took power. It allows lawsuits by Cubans who became U.S. citizens years after their properties were taken.

That includes some very large businesses - the Castro regieme is very wealthy. They need to pay for what they did to their citizens.

Nancy Pelosi

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Interesting tweet from James Woods:

That is a deer-in-the-headlights expression on her face...

Seriously WTF

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Why are there ANY people from the continent of Africa showing up on our Southern Border - from Breitbart:

Congolese Migrants Monitored for Ebola Along Texas Border, Says Official
A public health official in Laredo, Texas, said 20 Congolese migrants were monitored for Ebola and other diseases in shelters in his city and across the Mexican border in Nuevo Laredo, Tamaulipas. Shortly after his announcement during a Laredo City Council meeting, the World Health Organization (WHO) considered declaring a “global emergency” in response to a massive outbreak of Ebola in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

“We have 8 Congolese right now in one of our shelters and a dozen in Nuevo Laredo,” Laredo Health Director Dr. Hector Gonzalez told the Laredo City Councilman George Altget during a council meeting on April 4. “For them, my concern was Ebola.” He said that due to the time element, the Congolese migrants were not developing symptoms of Ebola. “But, we’re on alert to check that,” he said.

A report from the WHO states that, as of April 10, there have been more than 1,200 reported cases of Ebola in the Congo (1,140 confirmed, 66 probable). Those cases resulted in the deaths of 764 patients (698 confirmed, 66 probable). On Friday, The WHO decided the outbreak does not yet constitute a “Public Health Emergency of International Concern (PHEIC).”

You can be without visible symptoms but still highly contageous for up to two weeks before symptoms start to show. The idea that liberals like George Soros are paying to ship these people in through our borders is a violation of our rights as Americans.

Surf for a bit and then YouTube and bed - heading to Everett tomorrow for some stuff.

Time for dinner

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Swing by the library first - couple pints after.

Forecasting the weather is like herding cats - easy in the short term but things go awry in a short span of time. Some people have looked at this and determined the limit is two weeks - from the American Meteorological Society:

What Is the Predictability Limit of Midlatitude Weather?
Understanding the predictability limit of day-to-day weather phenomena such as midlatitude winter storms and summer monsoonal rainstorms is crucial to numerical weather prediction (NWP). This predictability limit is studied using unprecedented high-resolution global models with ensemble experiments of the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF; 9-km operational model) and identical-twin experiments of the U.S. Next-Generation Global Prediction System (NGGPS; 3 km). Results suggest that the predictability limit for midlatitude weather may indeed exist and is intrinsic to the underlying dynamical system and instabilities even if the forecast model and the initial conditions are nearly perfect. Currently, a skillful forecast lead time of midlatitude instantaneous weather is around 10 days, which serves as the practical predictability limit. Reducing the current-day initial-condition uncertainty by an order of magnitude extends the deterministic forecast lead times of day-to-day weather by up to 5 days, with much less scope for improving prediction of small-scale phenomena like thunderstorms. Achieving this additional predictability limit can have enormous socioeconomic benefits but requires coordinated efforts by the entire community to design better numerical weather models, to improve observations, and to make better use of observations with advanced data assimilation and computing techniques.

In plain english, the outmost limit for accuracy is about two weeks.

Great cartoon from Michael Ramirez

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Got to be in Everett tomorrow, near Tacoma Friday and have a meeting Thursday night. Staying down here.

Productive day - met with someone, picked up some steel bar stock for a fun little welding project and stopped at the coop for groceries. Surf for a bit - heading out for dinner in 90 minutes or so.

The Religion of Peace

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A two-fer - first, from the UK Sun:

'FEEL A MAN'S STRENGTH' Fury as vile cleric from World Cup host country Qatar films shocking guide on how Muslim men should beat their wives
A LEADING academic and cleric from World Cup host country Qatar has filmed a shocking guide on how Muslim men should beat their wives.

The vile video features Abd Al-Aziz Al-Khazraj demonstrating how to "punish" a woman in accordance with Islamic law.

These people literally are barbarians. Second? Some joy and hope from Reuters:

Christianity grows in Syrian town once besieged by Islamic State
A community of Syrians who converted to Christianity from Islam is growing in Kobani, a town besieged by Islamic State for months, and where the tide turned against the militants four years ago.

The converts say the experience of war and the onslaught of a group claiming to fight for Islam pushed them towards their new faith. After a number of families converted, the Syrian-Turkish border town’s first evangelical church opened last year.

Given the choice and the freedom, people will choose the path of peace and faith. Great news!

And in the depth of tragedy - hope

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This picture sums it up:

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From the New York Post:

Photos show center of Notre Dame cathedral miraculously intact
Photos from inside Notre Dame show the central part of the historic Gothic cathedral still intact.

Rows of wooden pews and much of the nave appears to have been saved, according to the images.

The damage is still horrific but it is not total. I do not have much hope for the organ as that was in the back of the Cathedral where the majority of the fire was. They will have to go over the structure with a fine-toothed comb to make sure that the masonry was not weakened by the heat of the fire or the steam from the fire fighting but they will rebuild.

Bet the new organ will be a monster (or Montre - pipe organ pun) - can't wait!

And it's the island again tonight

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Had dinner and ran a couple of errands - by the time I was done it was too late to drive up.

Got to meet with someone in Mt. Vernon tomorrow early afternoon - see how the day shapes up after that.

Still in shock over Notre Dame - they had an incredible and historical pipe organ and was home to many of the major French composers.

Back to work

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Working outside and doing some more laundry. Temps in the 60's. Supposed to rain tomorrow but we will see.

Notre Dame - a bit of recent history

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From the UK Guardian, September 9th, 2016:

Cell of French women guided by Isis behind failed Notre Dame attack
A cell of radicalized French women guided by Islamic State commanders in Syria was behind a failed terrorist attack near Paris’s Notre Dame Cathedral last weekend and planned another violent attack this week before they were intercepted by police, the Paris prosecutor has said.

The women, aged 19, 23 and 39, were arrested in Boussy-Saint-Antoine, a small town 19 miles (30km) south-east of Paris, on Thursday night after they were linked to the discovery of a car packed with gas cylinders parked near the cathedral last weekend. Officials said the women had been planning an imminent violent attack on the busy Gare de Lyon station in Paris and were stopped after a police and intelligence operation described as a “race against time”.

The Paris prosecutor, François Molins, said one of the women arrested, who he referred to as Sarah H, aged 23, had been engaged at different times to two French extremists who themselves had carried out deadly attacks this year.

She had been engaged to Larossi Abballa, who in June murdered a police commander and his police officer partner at their home in Magnanville outside Paris in the presence of their three-year-old son. He filmed the aftermath on Facebook Live before dying in a police raid. She was also betrothed to Adel Kermiche, who slit the throat of an elderly French priest during morning mass in Normandy in July. Her current fiancé was arrested on Thursday, Molins said.

Best and brightest.

Found this bit of news at Breitbart:

Twelve French Churches Attacked, Vandalized in One Week
A dozen Catholic churches have been desecrated across France over the period of one week in an egregious case of anti-Christian vandalism.

The recent spate of church profanations has puzzled both police and ecclesiastical leaders, who have mostly remained silent as the violations have spread up and down France.

Last Sunday, marauders set fire to the church of Saint-Sulpice — one of Paris’ largest and most important churches — shortly after the twelve-o’clock Mass.

Police have concluded that the fire was the result of arson and are now looking for possible suspects. The restoration of the church from the damage caused by the fire will reportedly cost several hundred million euros.

In Nimes (department of the Gard), near the border with Spain, the church of Notre-Dame des Enfants was desecrated in a particularly odious way, with vandals painting a cross with human excrement, looting the main altar and the tabernacle, and stealing the consecrated hosts, which were discovered later among piles of garbage.

Likewise, the church of Notre-Dame in Dijon, in the east of the country, suffered the sacking of the high altar and the hosts were also taken from the tabernacle, scattered on the ground, and trampled.

In Lavaur, in the southern department of the Tarn, the village church was assaulted by young men, who twisted one arm of a representation of the crucified Christ to make it appear that he was making an obscene gesture.

In the peripheries of Paris, in the department of Yvelines, several churches have suffered profanations of varying importance, in Maisons-Laffitte and in Houilles.

Although commentators have been reluctant to attach a particular religious or cultural origin to the profanations, they all share an evident anti-Christian character.

In recent months, anti-Semitic gangs have desecrated Jewish cemeteries, signing their actions with swastikas. In the case of the desecration of Catholic churches, the vandalism has spoken for itself: ridicule of the figure of Christ on the cross and desecration of major altars.

The Catholic hierarchy has kept silent about the episodes, limited themselves to highlighting that anti-Christian threat and expressing hope that politicians and police will get to the bottom of the crimes.

Reports indicate that 80 percent of the desecration of places of worship in France concerns Christian churches and in the year 2018 this meant the profanation of an average of two Christian churches per day in France, even though these actions rarely make the headlines.

Of course these actions do not get put in the headlines - that would detract from the progressive narrative that Islam is the Religion of Peace. It will take weeks before the cause of the fire is determined but if it turns out to be arson, the blow-back against their immigrants will be massive.

Here is the last thirty days of Peace wrought by the followers of Mohammed:

List of Killings in the Name of Islam: Last 30 Days - during this time period, there were 98 Islamic attacks in 21 countries, in which 501 people were killed and 496 injured.

7075 is an Aluminum alloy that is very light and very strong but it cannot be welded - the components of the alloy react and cause cracks at the weld zone. Airplanes are made from 7075 - this is why they are still rivited to this day.
From UCLA Samueli School of Engineering:

Nanotechnology enables engineers to weld previously un-weldable aluminum alloy
An aluminum alloy developed in the 1940s has long held promise for use in automobile manufacturing, except for one key obstacle. Although it’s nearly as strong as steel and just one-third the weight, it is almost impossible to weld together using the technique commonly used to assemble body panels or engine parts.

That’s because when the alloy is heated during welding, its molecular structure creates an uneven flow of its constituent elements — aluminum, zinc, magnesium and copper — which results in cracks along the weld.

Now, engineers at the UCLA Samueli School of Engineering have developed a way to weld the alloy, known as AA 7075. The solution: infusing titanium carbide nanoparticles — particles so small that they’re measured in units equal to one billionth of a meter — into AA 7075 welding wires, which are used as the filler material between the pieces being joined. A paper describing the advance was published in Nature Communications.

I use 6061 which can be welded with a simple TIG torch - it will be fun to add 7075 to the mix. Wonder how much the filler rods will cost? Probably nosebleed territory until the UCLA patent expires.

Crap - Notre Dame Cathedral on fire

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Was listening to the news and heard this - from France24:

LIVE: Paris firefighters fear it may be impossible to save Notre-Dame from blaze
Firefighters are battling a massive blaze at the French capital's iconic Notre-Dame Cathedral, where flames and black smoke were seen shooting from the base of the medieval church's spire on Monday.

    • The fire chief in Paris says it's unclear if city firefighters will be able to save Notre-Dame Cathedral.
    • The spire of the historic Notre-Dame Cathedral has collapsed as the wooden structure supporting the roof was ravaged by the blaze. Flames have spread to one of the cathedral's two towers.
    • The 12th century cathedral was in the midst of a massive 20-year renovation project.
    • Due to the fire, President Emmanuel Macron has postponed a highly-anticipated TV address on the Yellow Vest crisis, and rushed to the scene.
    • Deputy Paris mayor Emmanuel Gregoire said that workers are scrambling "to save all the artworks that can be saved".

From Reuters:

Fire devastates Notre-Dame, beloved architectural gem at heart of Paris
A fast-moving fire consumed Notre-Dame Cathedral on Monday in a massive, roaring blaze that devastated the Parisian landmark, a searing loss for the city and for France.

Flames that began in the early evening burst rapidly through the roof of the centuries-old cathedral and engulfed the spire, which collapsed, quickly followed by the entire roof.

A huge plume of smoke wafted across the city and ash fell over a large area. Parisians watching from the other side of the River Seine gasped as the spire folded over onto itself and fell into the inferno.

President Emmanuel Macron said the whole nation was moved. “Like all our compatriots, I am sad this evening to see this part of all of us burn,” he tweeted.

A photo from the London Daily Mail:

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A tragedy for Western Civilization.

Break for lunch

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Turned into a really nice day - the forecast is Partly Cloudy but that is not what I am getting here. Ran a couple of errands and picked up a Subway sandwich - a simple cheap lunch. Picked up a couple marrigold plants for companion planting with the basil and tomatoes.

Surf for a bit and then back to work.

And I am out the door

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Coffee, etc... Got a couple of projects here to finish and then heading North to the farm later this afternoon.

Meeting Thursday so back down Wednesday.

The Nebraska flooding

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Figured as much - a long but good read at American Thinker:

Nebraska Flooding: When the Government Cares More about Birds than People
When I recently discussed (in these pages) the degree of responsibility for the current catastrophic flooding that should accrue to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE), I clearly stated that the entirety of flooding could not have been prevented by the Corps or any other organization.

However, the severity and frequency of flooding throughout the Missouri River basin — most specifically, what has resulted in all but nine of Nebraska's 93 counties being under a federal disaster declaration — has increased dramatically due to one reason only, and it ain't climate change.

A bit more:

When the Corps believed that protecting people and property was a more worthy aim than fish and wildlife, the riverbanks were stabilized, shored against erosion and high-water events. The channels were kept largely free of silt infill to facilitate the draining efficiency of the river that essentially deals with the runoff of vast millions of square miles of mountain and plains snow and rain.

Dikes were built and maintained. Levees, too. Chutes (secondary channels of a meandering river) were closed to inhibit the ability of the river to overcome its banks in seasons of high-water. All these things (and more) combined to permit millions of Americans to develop the reclaimed lands, for farming, ranching, and homes. Indeed, these millions of Americans were encouraged to do so by their elected representatives, who happily took credit for the resulting economic benefits and increased tax revenues.

And then the environmentalists get involved:

Environmental groups like the Sierra Club and American Rivers advocate the wholesale removal of dams, even if it requires the forced relocation of millions of people and their businesses. They seek a continent with untamed rivers, devoid of human interference with the perceived "natural processes" of ebb and flood. At this level of green-think, it is more religion than science, with devotion measured in antipathy for the needs of mankind whenever there is conflict with nature.

There is a recurrent phrase used in Corps and other agencies discussions of "river recovery." That phrase is "reconnecting the river to its floodplain." The importance of this concept to the overall goal of "river recovery" can be readily seen in the anthropomorphic spall that surrounds its use, as if the river is a mother cruelly separated from her child, the floodplain, by the heartless brutality of man.

The USACE is now destroying the existing, well maintained infrastructure that protects the farmland - who will pay for its rebuilding once clearer heads get back in power? Much more at the site and a sobering examination of what rule by the elites looks like - clueless, out of touch and no accountability at all.

Our cooling climate

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From Accuweather:

Chicago sees latest snowfall of season in more than 50 years
Spring arrived weeks ago in the Windy City, but then on Sunday winter made an abrupt return bringing significant snowfall to Chicago as well as places in Missouri, Indiana and Michigan.

Chicago's O'Hare Airport was whitened by 5.3 inches of snow on Sunday. That made April 14 one of the top-two snowiest days this late in the season. The snowiest day in the city's history from April 14 to early May is 5.4 inches of snow on April 16, 1961.

And 1961 was the time that scientists were noticing a cooling trend. We have passed through the Modern Warm period and getting back to the Sun's normal cycle.

Tip of the fedora to Kim DuToit for the link.

And it is off to the land of YouTube

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Feeling a bit sleepy so early bedtime.

The new hotness - reel to reel tape

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Looks like reel to reel tape recording is coming back into vogue. I started out in music with a Sony R2R because it was the only game in town. Wound up owning an Ampex 4-track and then a TEAC 8-track but then, decent quality audio converters became available for computers and it was all over. Never looked back.

Now this from Thorens:

High End 2019: Thorens TM 1600 – High-End-Tape Machine
Thorens as the oldest brand in audio opens a new chapter in history of high quality analogue reproduction with the presentation of the new tape machine TM 1600

This time not only records, which are called “vinyls” today, are experiencing a strong revival, also the for a long time seen dead magnetic tape technology with quarter inch tapes is rising like a phoenix from the ashes.

In connection with Duesseldorf based tape machine manufactory Ballfinger Thorens meets the rising demand for master tape copies with it’s brand new tape machine TM 1600. A lot of pre-recorded tapes are distributed e.g. by STS-Analog, Analogy Records, Zavalinka Records or Analogify from Berlin.

Prices start at around $13,000USD so very much a status thing. The Saudis will buy a ton of them. I'll stick with my converter and Cubase. Been using this combo for over five years and love it.

Cher gets it

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As the pendulum swings back towards sanity:

Quite the turnout

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Well over 200 people - the parking lot was completely packed and people had to park on the shoulder of the road:

20190414-wake.jpg

Really liking this community - very close. 

Glad I am not planning to drive North tonight - early bedtime and head out tomorrow morning.

And I am out the door

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The memorial is more of a wake than a religious service - it is being held at a local restaurant and there will be food and drink. My kind of service. Because of this, I am planning to spend the night down here and head to the farm tomorrow.

Doing a bunch of laundry as well - overdue.

Our quiet Sun

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From NASA's Spaceweather:

Experts Predict a Long, Deep Solar Minimum
If you like solar minimum, good news: It could last for years. That was one of the predictions issued last week by an international panel of experts who gathered at NOAA’s annual Space Weather Workshop to forecast the next solar cycle. If the panel is correct, already-low sunspot counts will reach a nadir sometime between July 2019 and Sept 2020, followed by a slow recovery toward a new Solar Maximum in 2023-2026.

“We expect Solar Cycle 25 will be very similar to Cycle 24: another fairly weak maximum, preceded by a long, deep minimum,” says panel co-chair Lisa Upton, a solar physicist with Space Systems Research Corp.

Although there is evidence that the Minimum could last a lot longer - the Sun has several periodic cycles of varying length and they are adding up. Global Warming might soon find itself on the ash-pile of history.

Turnabout is fair play

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From Mike at 90 Miles From Tyranny:

20190414-trump.jpg

Heh - liberals backpedaling

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Illegal immigrants are their nation's best and brightest.  President Trump tweeted suggesting that they be lodged in sanctuary cities and the liberals hair caught on fire. The latest is Cory "Spartacus" Booker - from Zero Hedge:

Cory Booker Admits Releasing Migrants In Sanctuary Cities Would "Make Us Less Safe"
Democratic presidential candidate Cory Booker says that Americans would be "less safe" if illegal immigrants were released from locked detention centers into migrant-friendly American cities - a plan which President Trump has threatened to explore. 

When asked by Face the Nation's Margaret Brennan whether Trump's threat was an empty one, or if he was simply trying to create friction, Booker replied: "You say 'friction' -- I say he's trying to pit Americans against each other and make us less safe.

Can't have it both ways - you want open borders but you want the illegal immigrants to be cached somewhere else beside your liberal sanctuary city? Does not make sense. Preserves the narrative but does not make logical sense.

Out the door

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Slept in this morning - heading out for coffee, post office, back to the storage locker, recycling some cans and cardboard and paper and then back home (these are all within about a mile of each other). Memorial service at 4PM and then probably head up to the farm after.

The real Lassie story

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Found at Terrierman's:

20190414-lassie.gif

I touched on this before but USA Today has it spelled out:

WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange will be punished for embarrassing the DC establishment
He is our property.” Those celebratory words of Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., came on CNN soon after the news of the arrest of WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange at the Ecuadorian Embassy in London.

It was a sentiment shared by virtually everyone in Washington from Congress to the intelligence services. Assange committed the unpardonable sins of embarrassing the establishment — from members of Congress to intelligence officials to the news media. And he will now be punished for our sins. Despite having significant constitutional arguments to be made, it is likely that he will be stripped of those defenses and even barred from raising the overall context of his actions in federal court. What could be the most important free speech and free press case in our history could well be reduced to the scope and substance of an unauthorized computer access case.

For years, the public has debated what Assange is: journalist, whistleblower, foreign agent, dupe. The problem is that Assange is first and foremost a publisher

Moreover, he was doing something that is usually heralded in the news media. WikiLeaks disclosed disclosed controversial intelligence and military operations. It later published emails that showed that the Democratic National Committee and the campaign of Hillary Clinton lied in various statements to the public, including the rigging of the primary for her nomination. No one has argued that any of these emails were false. They were embarrassing. Of course, there is not crime of embarrassing the establishment, but that is merely a technicality.

Assange exposed a bit of the deep state to the public eye - can't have that now can we...

This is what leadership looks like

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Major grin on my face.
Shot:

Chaser:

The Latest: Court allows return of asylum seekers to Mexico

Heh - offer to drop thousands of illegals in their Democratic sanctuary sh*thole cities and the liberals Volte-face

Long but fun day

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Went out for coffee and to the storage locker - picked up some audio cables to get another couple synthesizers online. A lot of fun to be doing music while looking out at the ocean - inspiring.

Went to the Port Susan Home Show - small but a lot of local producers and businesses. Got a couple of leads for stuff. There was a local plant sale but it was the same people as this one and again, meh... Cheaper just to buy from the local nursery. Went North to Mt. Vernon and proceeded to get stuck in traffic with all the Tulip Peepers but still, got some food at the Coop and picked up some soil ammendments at Lowe's. Spent about an hour at the Skagit County Spring Garage Sale - couple of things looked like fun but didn't buy anything. Fun to look though - lots of cool stuff.

Came back to Stanwood for the monthly Prime Rib dinner - really good and really cheap - $18 for a full meal and $3 pints. Home now - surf for a bit and work in the yard tomorrow. There is a memorial service for a member of one of my groups down here and planning to attend tomorrow afternoon.

Farm for a few days Monday.

Great news - Electromagnetic Pulses

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Nice to see someone finally waking up to this - thank you President Trump. From The White House:

Executive Order on Coordinating National Resilience to Electromagnetic Pulses
By the authority vested in me as President by the Constitution and the laws of the United States of America, it is hereby ordered as follows:

Section 1. Purpose. An electromagnetic pulse (EMP) has the potential to disrupt, degrade, and damage technology and critical infrastructure systems. Human-made or naturally occurring EMPs can affect large geographic areas, disrupting elements critical to the Nation’s security and economic prosperity, and could adversely affect global commerce and stability. The Federal Government must foster sustainable, efficient, and cost-effective approaches to improving the Nation’s resilience to the effects of EMPs.

Really good - I love this as it sets very definite mileposts which are accountable - 90 days, 180 days, one year, etc... For those that do not know about (or who care to ignore) EMPs, these are not uncommon:

Like I said, these happen regularly via natural causes and there is always the chance of a rogue actor detonating a bomb in orbit (North Korea has two satellites in orbit at this time - here and here). Glad to see someone stepping up to the plate and actually doing something to get our nation ready for when it happens again.

Got some beers with my name on them

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Dinner was fantastic - I love my Instant Pot. Makes soups and stews a breeze to cook.

Heading out for two pints.

Seattle - not doing too well

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I knew about the KOMO - Seattle is Dying show but did not comment. Used to live there and the evidence is plain. Seattle has gone through boom and bust cycles before and will continue to do so. Nothing is static.

Here is an excellent analysis and some good news at City Journal:

A Brewing Rebellion in the Emerald City
For the past five years, like many of its West Coast counterparts, Seattle has endured a steady expansion of homelessness, addiction, mental illness, crime, and street disorder. But the activist class—a political and cultural elite comprising leaders in government, nonprofits, philanthropy, and media—has enforced a strict taboo on declaring the obvious: something is terribly wrong in the Emerald City.

Last month, veteran Seattle reporter Eric Johnson of KOMO violated that taboo with a shocking, hour-long documentary called Seattle is Dying, which revealed how the city has allowed a small subset of the homeless population—drug-addicted and mentally-ill criminals—to wreak havoc. Johnson’s portrait is backed up by evidence from King County homelessness data, by city attorney candidate Scott Lindsay’s “prolific offender” report on 100 homeless individuals responsible for more than 3,500 criminal cases, and by my own reporting on the homelessness crisis.

Some interesting excerpts:

According to the Seattle Times, 53 percent of Seattle voters now support a “zero-tolerance policy” on homeless encampments; 62 percent believe that the problem is getting worse because the city “wastes money by being inefficient” and “is not accountable for how the money is spent,” and that “too many resources are spent on the wrong approaches to the problem.”

And this - Johnson is the KOMO reporter who did the video:

According to leaked documents, the City of Seattle and its allies have retained a crisis-communications firm to discredit Johnson and insist, notwithstanding all evidence to the contrary, that “Seattle is making progress to end homelessness, and proven solutions are working.”

Our appearance of careful management is simply a careful management of appearances. And, when you do not have facts to back up your case, you can always do what liberals do so well - fling poo:

The city’s nonprofit and academic partners—mainstays of the homeless-industrial complex—have also launched coordinated attacks against the critics. Timothy Harris, director of Real Change News, has argued that grassroots neighborhood groups like Speak Out Seattle and labor unions like the Iron Workers Local 86 who opposed the city’s head tax are “alt-right” white supremacists, bigots, and fascists. Catherine Hinrichsen, director of the Project on Family Homelessness at Seattle University, accused Johnson of “hate-mongering” and spreading “fear.”

Much more - nice to see the citizens wake up. I had a lot of wonderful times there but at this stage in my life, I would never want to live in a big city again. Too much that can go wrong, too frail an infrastructure.

Looks like Georgetown University is circling the drain. From the New York Times:

Georgetown Students Agree to Create Reparations Fund
Students at Georgetown University voted on Thursday to increase their tuition to benefit descendants of the 272 enslaved Africans that the Jesuits who ran the school sold nearly two centuries ago to secure its financial future.

The fund they voted to create would represent the first instance of reparations for slavery by a prominent American organization.

I am fine with this AS LONG AS those receiving the monies agree to pay $1 for every cell phone call they make. Why? Cell phones were invented by a white guy. Television? Same thing. The encryption process that secures online commerce? Two white guys.

Fred Reed has just a partial list:

Euclidean geometry. Parabolic geometry. Hyperbolic geometry. Projective geometry. Differential geometry. Calculus: Limits, continuity, differentiation, integration. Physical chemistry. Organic chemistry. Biochemistry. Classical mechanics. The indeterminacy principle. The wave equation. The Parthenon. The Anabasis. Air conditioning. Number theory. Romanesque architecture. Gothic architecture. Information theory. Entropy. Enthalpy. Every symphony ever written. Pierre Auguste Renoir. The twelve-tone scale. The mathematics behind it, twelfth root of two and all that. S-p hybrid bonding orbitals. The Bohr-Sommerfeld atom. The purine-pyrimidine structure of the DNA ladder. Single-sideband radio. All other radio. Dentistry. The internal-combustion engine. Turbojets. Turbofans. Doppler beam-sharpening. Penicillin. Airplanes. Surgery. The mammogram. The Pill. The condom. Polio vaccine. The integrated circuit. The computer. Football. Computational fluid dynamics. Tensors. The Constitution. Euripides, Sophocles, Aristophanes, Aeschylus, Homer, Hesiod. Glass. Rubber. Nylon. Roads. Buildings. Elvis. Acetylcholinesterase inhibitors. (OK, that’s nerve gas, and maybe we didn’t really need it.) Silicone. The automobile. Really weird stuff, like clathrates, Buckyballs, and rotaxanes. The Bible. Bug spray. Diffie-Hellman, public-key cryptography, and RSA. Et cetera.

'Nuff said... This observation is not racism. It is a simple fact. Truth is color blind and if you try to bend the narrative around this (all hail diversity) than YOU are being racist.

Our President Tweets - illegals

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Perfect idea:

And the Dems are running around with their hair on fire. Why? I thought they loved the illegals.

Gun-fearing wussies

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The school kids are more mature than the administrators - from Reason:

High School Suspends 2 Students for Posting Gun Range Photos on Snapchat, ACLU Files Suit
Two male students at Lacey Township High School in New Jersey posted photos of guns on Snapchat. One of the boys captioned his photo with "hot stuff" and "if there's ever a zombie apocalypse, you know where to go."

The photos were not taken at school. They were not taken during school hours. They did not reference a school. They auto-deleted after 24 hours, which was well before the school became aware of them. And yet, administrators at Lacey Township High School suspended the boys for three days, and also gave them weekend detention.

This was a clear violation of the students' First Amendment rights, and the American Civil Liberties Union has now filed suit.

"Young people have the right to express themselves, and, with rare exceptions, they shouldn't face punishment by school administrators for it," said C.J. Griiffin, a partner at the law firm Pashman Stein Walder Hayden, who is representing the students along with the ACLU.

I love that the ACLU is getting involved. What the kids did was perfectly legal. None of the photos they posted were threatening, and none of them referenced their school.

Mmmmmm Bacon

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The smell of cooking bacon is only topped by its taste. Food of the Gods. Got the Instant Pot on pressure mode - from dry beans to fully cooked in 45 minutes. Let it simmer for another 30 mins or so to let the flavors meld. Thaw out a baguette and pop that in the toaster oven.

Nothing on the internet

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Taking a break - productive day. Didn't see anything at the Auction house - a lot of tools but these were incomplete sets of stuff I already had so no interest. Putting in some more plant starts - getting quite the collection of five gallon buckets. Makes it really easy to move around and take care of.

The forecast update shows less rain and more "partly sunny" - currently 56F outside so warming up a bit.

The local American Legion Post is doing their monthly roast beef dinner Saturday night so staying for that - good stuff and it is a fundraiser for them.

Going to fix some ham and bean soup for tonight.

Quiet morning

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Heading out for my usual - get a bite to eat for breakfast and then check the Auction preview.

Working at home today and up to the farm tomorrow (or Sunday) for more packing. The seedlings have broken through - planted two lettuces, chard, peas and three kinds of sunflowers. Got some little sprouts poking out of their trays. Weather forecast is still ten days of overcast and temps in the 50's - keeping the 'maters and basil in the heated bathroom and rigged some bright LED lights for them. I'll move them outside before I head out so they can harden off a little bit.

Lots of hummingbirds - making some more nectar today. Got some bananas softening up to attract fruit flies for the birds. The nectar is their energy drink - they eat a lot of insects for protein.

Planning to go to the YMCA this afternoon - have not been there for a week and really feel it.

And the occasional drip becomes a trickle - all leading up to the deluge before 2020:

Heading out for a few hours

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Got an email that another bunch of music CDs are waiting for me at the library. Get a bite to eat and then Preparedness Group meets tonight.

Makes you go Hmmmm...

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Hard to argue with the facts:

20190411-poland.jpg

Russian collusion - it starts

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Heh - from The New York Times:

Ex-Obama Counsel Expects to Be Charged Soon in Mueller-Related Case
Lawyers for Gregory B. Craig, a White House counsel in the Obama administration, expect him to be indicted in the coming days on charges related to his work for the Russia-aligned government of Ukraine.

The case against Mr. Craig, 74, stemmed from an investigation initiated by the office of the special counsel, Robert S. Mueller III.

Turning into a slow-rolling trainwreck. Looking forward to it.

Time to clean House - and Senate

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This is not unexpected but it is indefensible. This needs to stop. From The Center for Public Integrity:

YOU ELECTED THEM TO WRITE NEW LAWS. THEY’RE LETTING CORPORATIONS DO IT INSTEAD.
Each year, state lawmakers across the U.S. introduce thousands of bills dreamed up and written by corporations, industry groups and think tanks.

Disguised as the work of lawmakers, these so-called “model” bills get copied in one state Capitol after another, quietly advancing the agenda of the people who write them.

A two-year investigation by USA TODAY, The Arizona Republic and the Center for Public Integrity reveals for the first time the extent to which special interests have infiltrated state legislatures using model legislation.

USA TODAY and the Republic found at least 10,000 bills almost entirely copied from model legislation were introduced nationwide in the past eight years, and more than 2,100 of those bills were signed into law.

The investigation examined nearly 1 million bills in all 50 states and Congress using a computer algorithm developed to detect similarities in language. That search – powered by the equivalent of 150 computers that ran nonstop for months – compared known model legislation with bills introduced by lawmakers.

And a bit more:

USA TODAY’s investigation found:

    • Models are drafted with deceptive titles and descriptions to disguise their true intent. The Asbestos Transparency Act didn’t help people exposed to asbestos. It was written by corporations who wanted to make it harder for victims to recoup money. The “HOPE Act,” introduced in nine states, was written by a conservative advocacy group to make it more difficult for people to get food stamps.
    • Special interests sometimes work to create the illusion of expert endorsements, public consensus or grassroots support. One man testified as an expert in 13 states to support a bill that makes it more difficult to sue for asbestos exposure. In several states, lawmakers weren’t told that he was a member of the organization that wrote the model legislation on behalf of the asbestos industry, the American Legislative Exchange Council.
    • Copied bills have been used to override the will of local voters and their elected leaders. Cities and counties have raised their minimum wage, banned plastics bags and destroyed seized guns, only to have industry groups that oppose such measures make them illegal with model bills passed in state legislatures. Among them: Airbnb has supported the conservative Arizona-based Goldwater Institute, which pushed model bills to strike down local laws limiting short-term rentals in residential neighborhoods in four states.
    • Industry groups have had extraordinary success pushing copycat bills that benefit themselves. More than 4,000 such measures were introduced during the period analyzed by USA TODAY/Arizona Republic. One that passed in Wisconsin limited pain-and-suffering compensation for injured nursing-home residents, restricting payouts to lost wages, which the elderly residents don’t have.

There is a lot at the site - I would love to see a list of these for WA State and just who pushed for them. 2020 is not that far away.

I had written about Beresheet and it's curious cargo here and here. Unfortunately, from Haaretz:

Israeli Lunar Spacecraft Loses Main Engine, Crashes on Surface of the Moon
The Israeli moon lander Beresheet on Thursday failed to be the first spacecraft built by the private sector to safely land on the moon. After entering orbit, the spacecraft lost its main engine and went into an uncontrolled descent before it crashed.

The Israeli spacecraft had to tackle one of the biggest challenges of its lunar journey – the landing maneuver, the last stage of which was controlled solely by the spacecraft’s computer.

The landing began as planned, with Beresheet managing to snap two photos, one of which was a "selfie" bearing a sign that reads "Am Yisrael Chai" (meaning "The nation of Israel lives").

After initiating landing protocol, the control room said it lost contact with one of the landing detectors when the spacecraft was less than ten kilometers from the surface.

That has got to hurt - so near and yet so far. Here is one of the photos it took before everything went pear-shaped:

20190411-Beresheet.jpg

I am sure they are already laying plans for Beresheet II

The trial will be interesting to say the least - from FOX News:

US charges Julian Assange, WikiLeaks founder, with conspiracy
U.S. prosecutors said on Thursday they had charged Julian Assange, founder of the WikiLeaks website, with conspiracy in trying to access a classified U.S. government computer with former Army intelligence analyst Chelsea Manning in 2010.

Assange, arrested by British police in London and carried out of Ecuador's embassy there, faces a maximum penalty of five years in prison on the American charges, the U.S. Justice Department said in a statement.

Still way to early to guess what will happen. Interesting bit of a back-story from Russia Today:

'Pathological hatred': Ecuador's Moreno sold 'Assange's head' to the US – ex-president Correa to RT
Former Ecuadorian president Rafael Correa explained to RT why he calls his successor Lenin Moreno the "worst traitor" in the country's history for handing over WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange to British authorities.

And then, there is this little bit:

"Paul Manafort, the head of the Trump presidential campaign, visited Ecuador on May 30, 2017, weeks after Moreno took the office of the president. And even then Moreno offered to hand out Assange in exchange for financial enrichment from the US," Correa said.

The deep state lumbers on despite who is sitting on the throne...

Rain rain go away

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Looks like we are seeing the fringes of the weather that is hitting the midwest - forecast is nothing but overcast, cool and rain for the next ten days. Bleagh. Time for a cuppa coffee...

Fake News in the media

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This is my surprised face - from Townhall:

BUSTED: Mount Vernon Debunks Politico's Fake News Story About Trump's Visit To Washington's Estate
How many times will the liberal media have to endure getting hit in the face with their shoddy reporting about the Trump White House? Seriously, how many stories have been utterly gutted for being straight trash? From the oodles of bombshells that were nothing burgers about Russian collusion to the bust of MLK Jr.being removed from the Oval Office, the list of fake news stories is extensive. So, it shouldn’t shock us that Politico was caught red-handed trying to bash Trump for being uninterested in a tour of Mount Vernon when French President Emmanuel Macron visited last April. Supposedly, sources said this tour was “truly bizarre,” with Trump being unengaged, asking why George Washington didn’t name any real estate after him.

More at the site - the reply from Mt Vernon was classic - your sources were Fake. Another media outlet beclowning themselves. Orange Man = bad - must keep to the narrative.

SPLC getting sued

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Could not happen to a nicer bunch of hate-mongers. From PJ Media:

SPLC's 'Hate Group' Accusation Outed as a Scam, More Than 60 Groups Considering Lawsuits
Amid the racism and sexism scandal roiling the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC), former employees have revealed the far-left smear factory's list of "hate groups" as a cynical fundraising scam. Last year, the SPLC paid $3.375 million to settle a defamation lawsuit involving similar accusations. Now more than 60 organizations falsely accused of being "hate groups" are mulling lawsuits, and at least one lawsuit will come as soon as this summer.

Former SPLC employee Bob Moser described "the annual hate-group list" as "a valuable resource for journalists and a masterstroke of Dees’s marketing talents; every year, when the center publishes it, mainstream outlets write about the 'rising tide of hate' discovered by the S.P.L.C.’s researchers, and reporters frequently refer to the list when they write about the groups." According to The Progressive's John Egerton, SPLC co-founder Morris Dees "viewed civil-rights work mainly as a marketing tool for bilking gullible Northern liberals."

Current Affairs Editor Nathan J. Robinson slammed the "hate map" as an "outright fraud," a "willful deception designed to scare older liberals into writing checks to the SPLC."

Good - their fund raising is just shakedown after shakedown. They threaten to put a group on the "hate list" if said group doesn't make a nice large contribution to the SPLC. They are the hate group themselves - they are claiming hate where no hate exists.

And that is it for the evening

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Feeling downright sleepy - a bit of YouTube and bed.

Out of touch - Maxine Waters

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From PJ Media:

Maxine Waters Grills Big Bank CEOs About Student Loans — Which Were Nationalized in 2010
Rep. Maxine Waters seemed to demonstrate that she is in over her head Wednesday when she queried several bank executives about student loans even though they were nationalized under former president Obama nearly a decade ago.

A bit more - this is pathetic. Someone on her staff should have better prepared her:

She added, “Last year, one million student loan borrowers defaulted, which is on top of the one million borrowers who defaulted the year before.”

She then demanded to know what they intended to do about this massive problem. “What are you guys doing to help us with this student loan debt?" she asked. "Who would like to answer first? Mr. Monahan, big bank.”

Bank of America chairman and CEO Brian Monahan replied, “We stopped making student loans in 2007 or so.”

Ms. Waters replied, “Oh, so you don’t do it anymore. Mr. Corbat?”

Said Citigroup CEO Michael Corbat: “We exited student lending in 2009.”

James Dimon, JPMorgan Chase chairman and CEO, finally spilled the beans: “When the government took over student lending in 2010 or so, we stopped doing all student lending,” he said.

Waters then quickly changed the subject to small businesses.

And the problem now is that the bank CEOs now see her for what she is - totally clueless and out of her depth. Now they can get away with whatever they want and she will be none the wiser. No accountability - all she had to do was win a popularity contest to be elected and know where the bodies are buried to become chairwoman.

Back from dinner - clever hack

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Was watching a YouTube video on growing tomatoes and they suggested an alternative for 'mater cages. Went to Lowes and picked up two sheets of concrete remesh. The "official" use of these is to reinforce poured concrete slabs - sort of a grid of small size rebar.

Cut them in half and this yields four cages 3.5' tall and 2 1/4' in diameter. The remesh is a lot stronger than the cages and will support a fully laden plant. You use two T-Posts to hold them up. Total cost is $5 per cage (I already have lots of T-Posts) compared to $5 for a flimsy tomato cage. Win/Win

Also picked up a couple of landscape timbers to set under the 5-gallon buckets so they drain well.

Dinner was good - this place has a Mongolian Grill as well as the usual buffet items so it's a really good deal for the money. Nice people too.

Did not stop for a beer - been spending too much $$$ on this habit. Got some cans in the kitchen fridge that are just as tasty and cold.

Out for a couple of hours

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Got another tranche of music CDs waiting for me at the library. Heading out to Lowes and having dinner at the Chinese buffet.

The Blu-ray drive is quiet - it only took 10 minutes to read the files. The wait time is for rendering. Running around 10/fps - the standard DVDs rendered at around 80fps. It is a fairly hot machine and the CPU is running full-tilt:

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WTF - New York State

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This is seriously wrong - from syracuse.com:

NY Assembly: No free college tuition for Gold Star families
New York lawmakers on Tuesday refused to advance a bill that would have provided free college tuition to the families of military personnel from the state who were killed in the line of duty.

The Assembly’s Higher Education Committee voted 15 to 11 to hold the bipartisan bill, effectively ending its chances of making it to a floor vote this session.

The move comes a week after lawmakers passed a $175 billion state budget that included $27 million to provide college tuition aid for undocumented immigrants.

Disgusting.

Volume of raw data - Blu-ray

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I know that a Blu-ray disk holds a lot more data than a standard DVD but still, this is ridiculous. When ripping my DVDs, it has been taking about 30 minutes per disk. With my first Blu-ray disk, it has been processing for 45 minutes and still has over two hours left. It will be interesting to compare file sizes.

I am using the very wonderful and free HandBrake software - here is their website: HandBrake - The open source video transcoder

Yikes - F-35

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Sure hope that we get to it first - from Business Insider:

Japan lost an F-35 in the Pacific, and the US is in trouble if Russia or China find it first
Japan's military reported on Tuesday that it lost contact with an F-35 stealth jet some 84 miles off the east coast of Aomori prefecture, Japan, in the Pacific and that the hunt was on for the pilot and the downed plane.

But if Russia or China — which both maintain a heavy naval presence in the region — find the plane first, the future of US airpower could be over before it started.

"Bottom line is that it would not be good" for the future of US airpower if Japan or the US don't quickly recover the jet, retired US Air Force Lt. Gen. David Deptula told Business Insider.

"There is no price too high in this world for China and Russia to pay to get Japan's missing F-35, if they can. Big deal," Tom Moore, an expert on Russia and weapons proliferation, tweeted.

Talk about high-stakes. The jet has had some serious problems in the past but they seem to be working the bugs out.

Great article about the history of this iconic American food - from The New York Times:

The Sweet Success of the Spiral-Cut Ham
In the 1930s, Harry J. Hoenselaar was just another ham salesman in Detroit trying to find an edge.

He spent his days handing out samples of honey-glazed ham and teaching drugstore clerks how to slice it for sandwiches. Although he was a master at knifing ham from the bone, he knew there had to be a better way.

His family, which still runs the Honey Baked Ham Company he founded in 1957, says the answer came to him in a dream. With a tire jack, a pie tin, a washing machine motor and a knife, he fashioned the world’s first spiral ham slicer — a contraption that would become one of the world’s great ham innovations.

If an aged country ham is like jazz, funky and improvised, a spiral-cut is the pop music of the ham world — sweet, approachable and easy to eat. Even though ham snobs may look down on it, it’s a rare critic who won’t grab a slice of the tender, pale pink meat given the chance.

Fun story and I did not know the history. I get the Costco spiral hams, cut them up and cryovac them. They take just ten minutes in warm water to thaw and are perfect for a meal. That actually sounds pretty good - haven't had ham for dinner for a while...

Why I never take the stuff - Tylenol

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From The American Council on Science and Health:

Is Tylenol 'By Far The Most Dangerous Drug Ever Made?'
Why would Dr. Hausknecht, a New York neurologist and pain management specialist, say this? Taken out of context, such a sweeping statement may seem to be hyperbolic. The most dangerous drug ever made? I asked him to elaborate. He did:

"Each year a substantial number of Americans experience intentional and unintentional Tylenol (acetaminophen) associated overdoses that can result in serious morbidity and mortality. Analysis of national databases show that acetaminophen-associated overdoses account for about 50,000 emergency room visits and 25,000 hospitalizations yearly. Acetaminophen is the nation's leading cause of acute liver failure, according to data from an ongoing study funded by the National Institutes for Health. Analysis of national mortality files shows about 450 deaths occur each year from acetaminophen-associated overdoses; 100 of these are unintentional."

Much more at the article - key problem is that the difference between a therapeutic dose and a lethal dose is very very tiny. As for the 50,000 emergency room visits and 25,000 hospitalizations, yet only 450 deaths per year?

Dr. Hausknecht's statistics may seem puzzling. How can there be 50,000 emergency room visits and 25,000 hospitalizations, yet only 450 deaths per year?  This is because, when treated in time, irreversible liver damage from an acute overdose of acetaminophen can be prevented. There is an antidote called N-acetylcysteine. But the danger of the drug is not only from acute doses. Both acute and chronic use of acetaminophen can lead to permanent liver damage, not because acetaminophen itself is toxic, but because the liver converts it into something that is, sealing its own fate in the process.

Still, something to be aware of. I always go for Aspirin. It is safe and reasonably effective. If you take too much, it will thin your blood but this is extremely good for people suffering either a heart attack or a stroke so gobble down a dozen if you ever find yourself in this category. Be sure to tell the Emergency Responders first so they don't give you even more blood thinner. No bueno if that happens.

Love it:

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From Dan Piraro at Bizarro.com:

20190410-trophy.jpg

Tip of the hat to Terrierman - a daily read for me.

On the island - a cold and wet day

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Outside temp is 46°F and the 'maters and basil were not happy to see me when I showed up. Got them in the bathtub and running a space heater to get them warm again.

Uneventful drive down - did not stop in Bellingham this trip - Route 9 saves about 40 miles so took that instead. Meeting tomorrow (Preparedness Group) and back to the farm for the weekend.

Brought down the vacuum cleaner - something I have been meaning to do for a long while. Surf for a bit and then clean up.

Since I have done all my music CDs, I am starting to do all my video DVDs and discovered that quite a few of them were Blu-ray which none of the drives on this computer can read. Picked up a nice Buffalo external drive so I can carry it around and Handbrake is doing a bang-up job of ripping it to a standard MP4 file. There were some cheaper options but the user reviews were all really good and I keep stuff like this for a long long time.

Down to the island

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Meeting tomorrow so heading down there - coffee first. Some priorities never change...

Great news from Israel

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From Yahoo/Agence France-Presse:

'King Bibi': perennial survivor Netanyahu comes out ahead
Despite corruption allegations and stiff opposition from a new centre party, Israeli premier Benjamin Netanyahu has managed to boost his party's share of the vote and looks set to keep power.

While his right-wing Likud party and a centrist coalition appear set to have around the same number of parliamentary seats after Tuesday's general elections, the man called 'King Bibi' by admirers has a clear path to forming a coalition.

The 69-year-old is now likely to form another right-wing government and become the longest-serving Israeli prime minister later this year.

Good news - Israel is our strongest ally in that part of the world. She needs to stay strong.

It's here - bomb cyclone

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Wrote about it two days ago - the forecasts were accurate and it is hitting hard. From AccuWeather:

'Historic springtime snowstorm' wallops Rockies, north-central US as it intensifies
Snow is coming down fast and furious in the Rockies and north-central U.S. and is expected to accumulate up to 30 inches in some pockets. Meanwhile, thunder and lightning are accompanying the intense snowfall in some areas.

The storm blasted parts of the West with heavy rain, heavy mountain snow, power-cutting winds and blowing dust on Tuesday with more on the way into Wednesday night. The early stages of the storm knocked out power to 50,000 in the Los Angeles area and kicked up dramatic dust storms in Nevada.

The already massive storm will continue to gain strength across the nation's heartland into Thursday, bringing everything from damaging winds to blizzard conditions, flooding rain and severe weather.

This is going to really hurt agriculture - stock up on staples because food prices are going to spike. That plus, there is a really good indication that we are headed for a major cooling trend.

Disgustingly stupid - measles

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Turns my stomach - from England's The Sun:

Anti-vaxxer parents hold ‘measles parties’ to give their kids the deadly virus so they become immune and don’t need MMR jab
City health officials blasted parents after they were found encouraging their un-vaccinated kids to get the virus from each other in Brooklyn, New York.

The movement against the MMR vaccine, which protects against measles, mumps and rubella, is largely thought to stem from the work of Andrew Wakefield.

The now discredited UK doctor penned a damning research paper claiming a link between the MMR vaccine, autism and bowel disease.

The study was retracted in 2010 but the paper has had a lasting influence with the "anti-vaxxer" movement particularly taking off in America.

Yeah - sample size of 12, horrible P-Value and the dear Doctor is now just Andy - his license to practice medicine was stripped. He is no longer an Md.

Talk about child abuse.

Heh - time for some popcorn - spying

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From Reuters:

Barr says he thinks spying occurred on 2016 Trump campaign
Attorney General William Barr said on Wednesday U.S. intelligence agencies engaged in spying directed at the 2016 presidential campaign of Donald Trump and that he would look at whether the surveillance was undertaken legally.

"I think spying did occur," Barr told a Senate hearing. "But the question is whether it was adequately predicated and I am not suggesting that it wasn't adequately predicated. ... I am not suggesting those rules were violated, but I think it is important to look at that. And I am not talking about the FBI necessarily, but intelligence agencies more broadly.

One step at a time. This is the beginning of a wonderful slow-motion train wreck that will make Watergate look like child's play. The Democrats really stepped in it big-time.

And I am out the door

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Trip number two.

2020 - Hillary for Jail

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As the facts start to come out - from Judicial Watch:

Judicial Watch Uncovers ‘Cover-Up’ Discussions in Latest Production of Clinton Email Documents
Judicial Watch announced today that it uncovered 422 pages of FBI documents showing evidence of “cover-up” discussions related to the Clinton email system within Platte River Networks, one of the vendors who managed the Clinton email system. The documents also show Intelligence Community Inspector General (ICIG) Charles McCullough forwarding “concerns” about classified information in former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s emails.

Much more at the site - links to emails and other documents. This house of cards is starting to tumble. I love the way this is coming out right when the 2020 campaigns are starting to build.

Immigrant gangs - MS-13

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Just wonderful - from the Houston Chronicle:

‘A ticking time bomb’: MS-13 threatens a middle school, warn teachers, parents, students
The boys had once been friends before MS-13 began recruiting one of them. Now, as other students streamed to class one April morning at William Wirt Middle School in Riverdale, Maryland, the two teens squared off in the third-story bathroom - a fight captured by another student on his cellphone.

A bit more:

Gang-related fights are now a near-daily occurrence at Wirt, where a small group of suspected MS-13 members at the overwhelmingly Hispanic school throw gang signs, sell drugs, draw gang graffiti and aggressively recruit students recently arrived from Central America, according to more than two dozen teachers, parents and students. Most of those interviewed asked not to be identified for fear of losing their jobs or being targeted by MS-13.

Although administrators deny Wirt has a gang problem, the situation inside the aging, overcrowded building has left some teachers so afraid that they refuse to be alone with their students. Many said they had repeatedly reported incidents involving suspected gang members to administrators, only to be ignored.

And of course:

Rhonda Simley, the principal at Wirt, declined repeated requests for an interview.

Another look at the illegal immigration problem - from PJ Media:

Report: Nearly 20 Percent of Inmates in Federal Prisons Are Criminal Aliens
According to a new report, criminal aliens currently make up nearly 20 percent of the population in the U.S. Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP) system -- a total of 34,776.

David Olen Cross, a Salem, Ore., crime and immigration researcher, looked at the number of foreign nationals in the U.S. BOP system based on the most recent federal report. As of March 30, 2019, there were 179,761 inmates incarcerated in federal prisons across the U.S. Their countries of origin, according to the report, are:

    • Mexico 21,668 inmates, 12.1 percent;
    • Colombia 1,633 inmates, 0.9 percent;
    • Dominican Republic 1,425 inmates, 0.8 percent;
    • Cuba 1,169 inmates, 0.7 percent;
    • Other/unknown countries 8,881 inmates, 4.9 percent;
    • United States 144,985 inmates, 80.7 percent;

We need to stop the flow of people across the border. How much are the cartels paying Chuck and Nancy?

Talk about feeling old(er) - my first experience with programming was on a System/360 Model 40. Submit a stack of punch cards and come back the next day to see the results.

There is a nice bit of history over at Ken Shirriff's blog:

Iconic consoles of the IBM System/360 mainframes, 55 years old
The IBM System/360 was a groundbreaking family of mainframe computers announced on April 7, 1964. Designing the System/360 was an extremely risky "bet-the-company" project for IBM, costing over $5 billion. Although the project ran into severe problems, especially with the software, it was a huge success, one of the top three business accomplishments of all time. System/360 set the direction of the computer industry for decades and popularized features such as the byte, 32-bit words, microcode, and standardized interfaces. The S/360 architecture was so successful that it is still supported by IBM's latest z/Architecture mainframes, 55 years later.

Prior to the System/360, IBM (like most computer manufacturers) produced multiple computers with entirely incompatible architectures. The System/360, on the other hand, was a complete line of computers sharing a single architecture. The fastest model in the original lineup was 50 times as powerful as the slowest, but they could all run the same software. The general-purpose System/360 handled business and scientific applications and its name symbolized "360 degrees to cover the entire circle of possible uses."

Much more at the site - a lot of wonderful photos. A trip down memory lane.

Back for load two

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Quick lunch and load up the van again.

Punching back twice as hard

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Representative Nunes is on a roll - from FOX News:

Nunes files $150M lawsuit against McClatchy, alleging conspiracy to derail Clinton, Russia probes
House Intelligence Committee ranking member Devin Nunes filed a $150 million lawsuit in Virginia state court against The McClatchy Company and others on Monday, alleging that one of the news agency's reporters conspired with a political operative to derail Nunes' oversight work into the Hillary Clinton campaign and Russian election interference.

The filingobtained by Fox News, came a day after Nunes, R-Calif., revealed he would send eight criminal referrals to the Justice Department this week concerning purported surveillance abuses by federal authorities during the Russia probe, false statements to Congress and other matters.

In March, Nunes filed a similar $250 million lawsuit alleging defamation against Twitter and one of its users, Republican consultant Liz Mair. In Monday's complaint, Nunes again named Mair as a co-defendant, charging this time that she conspired with McClatchy reporter MacKenzie Mays to spread a variety of untruthful and misleading smears -- including that Nunes "was involved with cocaine and underage prostitutes" -- online and in print.

Good - hit them hard. They have had free-reign for way to long. Time to shed some sunlight on their cabal.

Coffee, store and Bellingham

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Planning to get two runs in to Bellingham today. Here for at least two nights - got a meeting on Camano on Thursday but nothing planned until then.

The General Services Administration has developed a set of web templates, etcetera for unifying web design throughout the various government agencies. Looks very nice and clean.

Check out The United States Web Design System

Same people have also developed Public Sans - repository on GitHub

America is NOT a democracy

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The media once again gets it totally wrong. A Democracy is two wolves and a sheep discussing what is for dinner. America is a Republic. Fake news from New York Magazine:

Michigan Conservatives Don’t Want to Teach Students That America Is a Democracy
On Tuesday, the Michigan State Board of Education will vote on a plan to reform the state’s standards for social studies, the rubric that determines how teachers cover history, civics, economics, and geography in their classrooms. The new standards, first developed by former Republican State Senator Patrick Colbeck and a group of like-minded conservatives, propose a few right-turns in the lesson plans of Michigan teachers from kindergarten through 12th grade.

Stupid liberals - the author of this hit-piece does not even know the basics of our government but still uses his bully-pulpit to bash conservatives.

This looks like fun - Addams Family

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Used to religiously watch the television version - looks like a fun re-boot:

Muslim murderers in the news

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Another one this afternoon - from ABC News:

Feds charge Maryland man accused of plotting to ram stolen truck into pedestrians
Federal authorities have charged a Maryland man they believe was plotting to ram a stolen truck into pedestrians at the National Harbor waterfront development in Maryland, just outside the nation's capital, the Justice Department announced Monday.

Rondell Henry, 28, of Germantown, Maryland, has been charged with interstate transportation of a stolen vehicle, but in court documents authorities allege a much more sinister intention.

According to authorities, Henry claimed to law enforcement that he was inspired by the Islamic State when he stole a U-Haul van looking to use it as a weapon.

More:

On his phone, authorities found "images of gun-wielding ISIS fighters, the ISIS flag, and the Pulse nightclub shooter" who killed 49 people at the Orlando bar three years ago.

Authorities said Henry told them he wanted to create what he allegedly called "panic and chaos" like the attack on pedestrians in Nice, France, in 2016, when a terrorist killed 86 people and wounded 450 others when he drove a 19-ton truck into a crowd celebrating a local holiday.

Sick little piece of shit. Needs to be locked up for a long long time. Justice used to be a lot more simple 100 years ago - we should consider bringing back same-day hangings for people like this.

Heh - 50,000+ matches

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Someone had a lot of fun with this project:

Tip of the propeller beanie to Peter Grant at Bayou Renaissance Man for the link.

From Watts Up With That:

Another “bomb cyclone” to hit the Midwest this week with heavy snow
A near-repeat of March’s “bomb cyclone” will bring up to 30 inches of snow this week to portions of Minnesota and South Dakota, with blizzard conditions and a threat of severe thunderstorms.

Roughly the same area that experienced flooding rains in March — and still trying to dry out enough to plant corn and soybeans — will see another round of heavy rain and heavy snow. The forecast location of the intense cyclone as of Thursday morning April 11 shows it taking a similar path to the record-setting March storm

Stock up on staples - this is going to be an expensive year for food.

From Kaiser Health News:

‘Medieval’ Diseases Flare As Unsanitary Living Conditions Proliferate
Jennifer Millar keeps trash bags and hand sanitizer near her tent, and she regularly pours water mixed with hydrogen peroxide on the sidewalk nearby. Keeping herself and the patch of concrete she calls home clean is a top priority.

But this homeless encampment off a Hollywood freeway ramp is often littered with needles and trash, and soaked in urine. Rats occasionally scamper through, and Millar fears the consequences.

And more:

Infectious diseases — some that ravaged populations in the Middle Ages — are resurging in California and around the country, and are hitting homeless populations especially hard.

Los Angeles recently experienced an outbreak of typhus — a disease spread by infected fleas on rats and other animals — in downtown streets. Officials briefly closed part of City Hall after reporting that rodents had invaded the building.

People in Washington state have been infected with Shigella bacteria, which is spread through feces and causes the diarrheal disease shigellosis, as well as Bartonella quintana, which spreads through body lice and causes trench fever.

Hepatitis A, also spread primarily through feces, infected more than 1,000 people in Southern California in the past two years. The disease also has erupted in New Mexico, Ohio and Kentucky, primarily among people who are homeless or use drugs.

Just wonderful - and how long before Yersinia pestis rears its pretty little head?

Fancy dinner tonight

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Can of soup (Campbell's Chunky Beef with Country Vegetables) and a small baguette. Simple and tasty. Couple pints of cider after.

Started to rain pretty heavily - we need it.

Quite the opposite from the progressive narrative - from City Journal:

Who Commits Most of the World’s Extremist Violence?
Last week, the New York Times featured an illustrated timeline of “white extremist” killings over the last nine years, with lines demonstrating citation and affiliation among the killers. According to the Times, the record shows “an informal global network of white extremists whose violent attacks are occurring with greater frequency in the West.”

The idea that white supremacist violence is a growing global threat has gained more currency recently, notably in the wake of the ghastly Christchurch mosque massacre, when an avowed white nationalist murdered 50 Muslims. New York congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, for instance, asserted that “White supremacists committed the largest # of extremist killings in 2017.” No one will deny that racial hatred is an evil ideology, and that people who kill in the name of white supremacy commit evil—but are the New York Times and Ocasio-Cortez correct that “white extremists” are increasingly sowing worldwide mayhem?

The evidence suggests otherwise. Even a superficial glance at the record indicates that of the nearly 20,000 people killed in thousands of extremist killings in 2017, white supremacists were responsible for very few. The worst terrorist event of 2017, according to the State Department, was the explosion of a truck bomb outside the Safari Hotel in Mogadishu, Somalia, which killed more than 580 people. This violent act is believed to have been the work of Al-Shabaab, which was responsible for 97 percent of the 370 instances of extremist killings in Somalia in 2017, accounting for about 1,400 deaths—mostly civilian. The remaining violent acts were carried out by Jabha East Africa (ISIS-Somalia), a dissident Al-Shabaab splinter group.

The Religion of Peace maintains a database of muslim murders - here is the last thirty days:

List of Killings in the Name of Islam: Last 30 Days
This is part of the list of killings in the name of Islam maintained by TheReligionofPeace.com. Most of these incidents are terror attacks. A handful are honor killings or Sharia executions.
During this time period, there were 102 Islamic attacks in 22 countries, in which 520 people were killed and 438 injured.
(TROP does not catch all attacks. Not all attacks are immediately posted).

Christians used to be a nasty bunch but we had a reformation. Islam is well overdue.

A quick application of Karma - Iran

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President Obama gave Iran $170 Billion dollars (that we know of) and the regime spent it on fostering terrorism as well as purchasing ordnance. As well as we can tell, none of it went for infrastructure development and repair. Now it is biting them in the ass. From Reuters:

Flood-hit Iran getting no financial aid from abroad due to U.S. sanctions: statement
U.S. sanctions have prevented the Iranian Red Crescent from obtaining any foreign financial aid to assist victims of flooding that has killed at least 70 people and inundated some 1,900 communities, the group said on Sunday.

U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said last week that Washington was ready to help via the Red Cross and Red Crescent, but accused Iran’s clerical establishment of “mismanagement in urban planning and in emergency preparedness”.

“No foreign cash help has been given to the Iranian Red Crescent society. With attention to the inhuman American sanctions, there is no way to send this cash assistance,” the Red Crescent said in a statement.

And a bit more:

Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said last week that U.S. sanctions - reimposed after Washington quit a 2015 nuclear deal between Iran and six world powers - were impeding aid efforts to flood-stricken towns and villages.

“Blocked equipment includes relief choppers: This isn’t just economic warfare; it’s economic TERRORISM,” he said on Twitter.

All Iran has to do is to stop sponsoring terrorism and exporting it to the rest of the world. Once they do that, Iran and its citizens will be welcomed back into the world. By claiming that the rest of the world was committing economic terrorism, the Foreign Minister was showing classical signs of projection.

And it starts - Devin Nunes

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Took a little time to get rolling but this is really good news - from Real Clear Politics:

Nunes: Ready To Make Criminal Referrals On Russiagate For Lying To FISA Courts, Conspiracy, Leaks
Rep. Devin Nunes said Sunday that after more than two years of investigation, he is ready to send eight criminal referrals to the Department of Justice this week regarding leaks, FISA abuse, and lying to Congress related to the origins of the Trump-Russia investigation. He did not name names but said: "people who have followed 'Russiagate' for a long time know a lot of the names."

"We're prepared this week to notify the attorney general that we're prepared to send those referrals over and brief him if he wishes to be briefed," Nunes said on FNC's "Sunday Morning Futures" with Maria Bartiromo.

"Five of them are what I would call straight up referrals, so just referrals that name someone and name the specific crimes. Those crimes are lying to Congress, misleading Congress, and leaking classified information," Nunes said.

"There are three that are more complicated... So the question on conspiracy is what, there's the conspiracy statute, and then what do they need to look at under that statute. So on the first one, is FISA abuse and other matters we believe there is a conspiracy to lie to the FISA Court, mislead the FISA court by numerous individuals that all need to be investigative and looked at," Nunes said. "The second conspiracy one is involving manipulation of intelligence. That also could involve many Americans and we are, so that's kind of the second one. As you know, we've had a lot of concerns with the way intelligence was used."

More at the site - time to start rolling up the deep state and letting the general public know just how close we came to losing the government.

At the farm

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Stopped for a burger at Hal's and up here for two days.

Packed a lot of cartons and totes the last time I was up (forgot the condo keys) so filling the van tomorrow. Place is starting to empty out - looks great.

Surf for a bit and then out for two pints of cider...

Time for a video or two...

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YouTube

Checked out the Infrared Weather Satellite image from UW - looks like the Pineapple Express broke up a bit and passed to the South of Puget Sound. Dodged that one.

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And it's the island tonight again

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Finished with the transplanting and seed starting - took a look at the time and it is a bit too late to drive up. Had lunch but feeling hungry - head out for some fish and chips and then a beer or two.

Turned into a really nice day and a lot of people were out walking. I was on the back deck with my wheelbarrow of potting mix - 1/3rd each three-way (topsoil, sand and compost), cow poop and sphagnum moss. This is nice and fertile without being too "hot" and burning the roots. The sphagnum really holds the water and releases it slowly - that way, you do not need to water as frequently which for a five gallon bucket can be several times/day if it is hot. I did drip irrigation at the farm and have a lot of the various bits and bobs needed so will set it up down here sometime later. A hose works fine for now.

Back in a bit...

Come on guys - this problem has been known for years and years:

People advocating socialist health care need to look to England. From Singapore's The Straits Times:

Thousands in Britain left to go blind due to eye surgery rationing: Report
Thousands of elderly people in Britain are left to go blind because of rationing of eye surgery in the National Health Service (NHS), a report revealed on Saturday (April 6).

The Times newspaper said a survey by the Royal College of Ophthalmologists (RCO) found tens of thousands of elderly people are left struggling to see because of an NHS cost-cutting drive that relies on them dying before they can qualify for cataract surgery.

The survey has found that the NHS has ignored instructions to end cataract treatment rationing in defiance of official guidance two years ago.

Well I am sure that Mick Jagger had no problems getting his heart valve replacement surgery performed. Oh. Wait. He flew to New York City for the procedure...

Eating Crow

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From the great Glenn McCoy

Coffee and points North

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This time for reals. Bringing the condo keys too...

Still waiting for the pineapple express to manifest - may be delayed a few days, maybe dissapated.

More posting later this evening - have a bit more planting stuff to finish today. Head up in the afternoon.

It's not nice to fool Mother Nature

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From Reuters:

Britain's Asda supermarkets to stop selling single kitchen knives
Walmart-owned British supermarket chain Asda said it will remove single kitchen knives from sale in all its stores by the end of April.

Britain’s knife-crime rate is soaring and, following a wave of fatal stabbings in recent weeks, many involving teenagers, Prime Minister Theresa May has convened a meeting of ministers and community leaders to discuss ways of tackling the problem.

“We know single knives are the most common knife products to be stolen and that is why we have chosen to remove these items from our stores,” Asda Senior Vice President Nick Jones said in a statement.

It is not the gun, it is the person.

And back on the island again

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Spending tonight on the island as well - got a bunch of plants in their new homes. Should look nice once they grow a bit. Yummy too. Back from a burrito and two beers - plans to cook dinner here did not materialize...

Looking forward to the LinuxFest Northwest in two weeks - 20th Anniversary. Their keynote speaker is maddog:

2019: Fifty years of Unix, Internet and more
2019 is a year of anniversaries. It is the fiftieth year of Unix, the ARPAnet, people walking on the moon, Woodstock, Linus being born (yes, he is fifty) and many other things. It is the thirtieth anniversary of the World-Wide-Web, the twenty-fifth anniversary of V1.0 of the Linux kernel, Beowulf supercomputers, and 64-bit Linux. It is the twentieth anniversary of the Linux Terminal Server project, the Linux Professional Institute and LinuxFest Northwest (time flies when you are having fun).

Fifty years ago maddog wrote his first program, and fifty years ago he shaved for the last time.

Besides 1969 being a year of landmarks, it was the start of a unique operating system and (later) a free operating system that captured people's minds.

This talk will discuss the reasons behind these phenomenons.

The only other person with this much Computer Geek-Fu is RMS

Nothing out there

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Finish unloading the van and start dinner. Putting a bunch of vege starts into larger pots and some spuds into some of the 5-gallon buckets.

A quick surf turned up nothing of interest.

Could have told you that - dogs

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From the Portland Press Herald:

Dog owners are much happier than cat owners, survey finds
The well-respected survey that’s been a barometer of American politics, culture and behavior for more than four decades finally got around to the question that has bedeviled many a household.

Dog or cat?

In 2018, the General Social Survey for the first time included a battery of questions on pet ownership. The findings not only quantified the nation’s pet population – nearly 6 in 10 households have at least one -they made it possible to see how pet ownership overlaps with all sorts of factors of interest to social scientists.

Like happiness.

For starters, there is little difference between pet owners and non-owners when it comes to happiness, the survey shows. The two groups are statistically indistinguishable on the likelihood of identifying as “very happy” (a little over 30 percent) or “not too happy” (in the mid-teens).

But when you break the data down by pet type – cats, dogs or both – a stunning divide emerges: Dog owners are about twice as likely as cat owners to say they’re very happy, with people owning both falling somewhere in between.

I do have a cat but she is more of an outdoor cat to keep the rodents in check. Love my two dogs and am very happy. This is a no-brainer.

High winds today

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Got a gale warning and there are scattered (473 as of now) power outages around the county and around the North coast of British Columbia.

Coming home I saw that the local Lutheran church was having a spring fair so stopped in and checked them out. They had a cute photo booth with some huge rabbits (Flemish) for people to hold. I cuddled two of them but didn't sit for a photo. Really sweet personalities. I could see them being awesome low-energy house pets - they are litter-box trainable and very affectionate.

Willis has two more chapters in his trans-pacific story: Terminator Winds and Rumors Of Dragons. Like I said before, he is a really good storyteller.

Discovery is a bitch

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Trials can turn out really bad at times - the dicovery process can uncover things that people do not want uncovered. When you see a very public lawsuit and then a very quick out-of-court settlement, you can bet that the concept of discovery was not fully understood by one or more parties. From Karl Denninger writing at The Market Ticker:

Jussie Gets 'In The Butt' Smollett
I'm going to grab a big bowl and sit back to watch the ****show...

Chicago is vowing a civil suit against Jussie Smollett after the "Empire" actor "refused to reimburse" the city for the cost of investigating his controversial case.

He's gonna lose, and badly -- the standard of proof is preponderance of the evidence in a civil suit, not beyond a reasonable doubt.

But more to the point he's got a much bigger problem -- discovery.

The so-called "sealed records" are worthless in this regard, especially considering that the CPD released them before the sealing order was filed. Those are usable in a civil trial and what's worse since the criminal charges were dismissed I doubt he can get anywhere trying to take the 5th either.

That's the real bitch when you pull something and whoever you screw gets mad enough to sue; they get to file for discovery and damn near anything they want that is relevant to the case, they get -- and its public. You can try to have things sealed but you're likely to lose that motion; there are only a few legitimate ways to seal discovery in a civil suit other than by agreement (e.g. trade secrets, etc) and none of them are going to work in this case. "I don't want anyone to see it" doesn't get there.

Were I Jussie I'd have negotiated the invoice from the city and forked over the money rather than go down this road. Once they sue him he gets to pay the lawyers, even if he settles later, and that isn't going to be cheap.

It would be one thing if he had a reasonable chance of prevailing -- but I give him one chance in 10. Trying to throw the two brothers under the bus isn't likely to work, given that they have the check from Jussie. If it was one word against another, maybe -- but there's documentation and that's going to be damn hard to explain. Never mind that the civil trial record will likely bury any chance of him working ever again. Would you hire someone who gets nailed on a civil judgement for a hate-crime hoax when said person is a minority?

Heh - the wheels of justice may grind slow but they leave a very fine ash in their wake.

Got an older GPS receiver?

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You may be in for a surprise tomorrow - from Ars Technica:

GPS “rollover” event on April 6 could have some side-effects
On April 6, the Global Positioning System will reach the end of an era—or more correctly, an epoch. That’s when the Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) clock used by the satellite navigation system will reach the limit for its 10-bit “week number” (WN) counter and flip back to 0000000000.

GPS time is linked to the official UTC clock time provided by the US Naval Observatory. But the GPS version of the clock tracks the date by counting the number of weeks since the beginning of the current GPS “epoch”—August 21, 1999. So as the clock reaches midnight tonight on the prime meridian, the GPS calendar will suddenly become 20 years out of date.

This is sort of like the Y2K nothingburger from 19 years ago as well as the Unix date bug which will destroy civilization on January 19th, 2038. Older GPS receivers __may__ be affected but newer ones know about this and correct.

Back home for the night

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Dinner was yummy - beers cold and wet.

Feeling a bit sleepy so YouTube and bed - heading to the farm tomorrow.

He had a heart valve replaced today - from Twitter:

Prepping - growing food

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Been starting a decent edible garden here - got some 5-gallon plastic tubs and will be planting them with various veges.

Musings from the Chiefio has posted some excellent YouTube videos on backyard homesteading:

Spuds, Buckets, Ruth Stout, Arbors, & Winter Greens
This is a collection of “How To” videos related to growing common foods, especially potatoes and salad greens, but also beans and garlic, in low work ways. These folks have figured out some simple and effective ways to “Get ‘er Done!” without getting all worked up abou it.

First, a way cool way simple way to grow a bit of salad greens anywhere you have a sunny square meter, even in winter. No dirt access required.

It uses a translucent storage “tub”, upside down, as a cloach, or minature greenhouse, with a bag of potting soil lain on the lid (that is now on the ground). Just one of those “Oh Doh!” head slap moments. I have a sunny patio area that is essentially unused in winter. It has the bean & squash pots on it at the moment. I can add one of these for $20 and have salad greens (and likely my favorite radishes…) even into winter.

I'll be adding these new channels to my evening's YouTube rotation. Great stuff.

From Seattle station KIRO:

Northwest region is currently in an ‘earthquake drought’
Everyone once in a while it’s good to check in on the health of tectonic plates, and see if we need to add a few more cans of beans to our emergency supplies.

“The tectonic plates are always in motion, but they move really slowly overall. We like to say that they move at about the same rate as your fingernails grow,” Harold Tobin, director of the Pacific Northwest Seismic Network told Seattle’s Morning News.

“So give it a year, see how long your fingernails would get — that’s how far the North American plate has moved out toward the Pacific. The problem is of course that they get stuck at the edges, and where they’re stuck together they build that strain up.”

While most earthquake news is all doom and gloom, local seismic activity is rather tepid of late. There’s nothing immediate to worry about, but there’s nothing to feel better about, either.

“We don’t have any short-term — short-term meaning weeks to months to years — precursors that we’re seeing. The general background rate of earthquakes globally is steady and even,” Tobin said. “In our region, we’re in something informally called the ‘earthquake drought,’ meaning there haven’t been so many earthquakes over the past decade or two.”

More at the site. I have been a prepper for the last 30 years or so - casual at the start and more serious and organised now. Working with emergency amateur radio communications and the search and rescue people have shown to me just how fragile our infrastructure really is. The best definition I have heard is this:

Disaster: an event that outstrips your ability to cope.

That says it in a nutshell. You do not have to do this all at once - next time you go grocery shopping, pick up an extra couple cans of beans or tuna fish. Keep doing this and make sure to rotate through the oldest first and you will be all set in six months. Be sure to include a favorite book or some games to keep yourself occupied.

Back on the island tonight

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Gotta get my head checked - forgot the condo keys again. Got up to Bellingham, finished some other business and DOH!

Cold and rainy night - heading out for a big bowl of pasta and a couple of beers in a short while. Picked up some music CDs on my way in so ripping them. Library is open until 6:00PM tonight so get them back in circulation for everyone else. Been backfilling my old record collection back when I had vinyl - Uriah Heep, Foreigner, a lot of others. Brings back memories.

Surf for a few minutes...

Out the door

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Coffee &c...

It is going to rain here Sunday - got this heading out way: (Cliff Mass)

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Putting some iron sulfate on the lawn today to kill my very abundant moss farm - some rain will be good to get it soaked in but it may rinse it out so a second application on Monday will be in order.

Cool news - Israeli technology

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From NBC News:

Israel just became the seventh nation to orbit the moon
After slowly spiraling away from Earth for the past six weeks, an Israeli spacecraft known as Beresheet slipped into orbit around the moon on Thursday.

This was a historic achievement for the little robot, but it paves the way for something truly epic: a lunar touchdown attempt a week from now. If Beresheet succeeds on April 11, it will become the first Israeli craft, and the first privately funded vehicle, ever to land on the surface of the moon.

"The lunar capture is an historic event in and of itself — but it also joins Israel in a seven-nation club that has entered the moon’s orbit," Morris Kahn said in a statement. "A week from today, we'll make more history by landing on the moon, joining three superpowers who have done so. Today I am proud to be an Israeli."

I had written about this spacecraft at its launch on February 25th, 2019. It has an interesting payload as well as planning to attempt a moon landing.

From Bloomberg:

Los Angeles Is Having a Loud Economic Boom
Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti is almost 12 months into his second term and the economy of the second-largest city is outperforming No. 1 New York, No. 3 Chicago and the rest of the U.S. Measured by the growth of personal income, gross domestic product per capita, jobs, home prices, global trade and transportation, corporate equity and municipal debt, Los Angeles has become the most productive of the five biggest U.S. cities. Even its perennial calamity of homelessness receded significantly for the first time last year since the city's youngest mayor took office in 2013.

Garcetti didn’t set off the L.A. boom, but there’s no doubt that the city has prospered under his leadership. The 48-year-old Rhodes scholar, former Navy reserves lieutenant and jazz pianist says that Olympic aspirations

Garcetti is a Democrat in the mold of J. F. Kennedy. His predecessor was Antonio Villaraigosa who was a Clinton/Obama party hack so he doesn't have that high a bar when it comes to leadership.

Sounds like this will be a lot of fun - from The Daily Beast:

Trump Is Already Plotting His Post-White House Tell-All Memoir
As he navigates turbulent domestic and international affairs, President Donald Trump has been keeping one eye on an opportunity that awaits him in his post-White House career.

Since at least mid-2017, Trump has been talking about the post-presidential memoir he will write; or, more likely, have ghostwritten on his behalf. He is planning on it being explosive and assumes (not without reason) that it will be a New York Times bestseller. And since the early days of his administration, he has conveyed his eagerness to get started on the project.

“He sounded excited about it,” said one person who was present last year when the president made comments about writing a memoir. “He said it would sell better than even The Art of the Deal.”

I am looking forward to the Meuller report - all sorts of land mines there for Democrats.

That is it for today

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Long day tomorrow. Looking at some flooring on Craigslist, bank and then farm.

Skating Under The Ice

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One of my favorite websites is run by Willis Eschenbach - he writes a lot about climate science but he has also lived an amazing life and is a top story-teller. Website: Skating Under The Ice and his about page: About This Site

Over the last few days, he has been serializing an account of his delivering a sailboat from Hong Kong to California.

Here is what he has posted so far:

I Am Invited Overseas
Back in 1976, when I was about 30, a wealthy friend of mine made me an offer I couldn’t refuse. I was to fly to Hong Kong, where I’d be the First Mate on a sailboat he’d bought and wanted to be delivered back to the US. I’ve done a variety of boat deliveries, they’re always good fun. I wrote about another boat delivery in several parts here, Part 1Part 2Part 3Part 4, and Part 5. So I said sure, I’ll deliver a sailboat, no problemo.

Here are the stories - some wonderful writing and a great adventure:

And Willis is just warming up to the story - check back every day or so. He is a wonderful writer.

Out for the evening

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Had a big lunch at home so heading out for just a burrito and a couple pints. Got a bunch of disks waiting for me at the library so swing by to pick them up.

Clever hack - raindeer

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Abrasive cutoff wheels

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Working in metal, I use these a lot for trimming metal. I always use PPE - even just for one cut. Flap disks not so much. Kenny Lane offers this graphic reason why PPE is a very good idea:

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Talking about needing a fresh change of underwear...

Passages - RIP Dan Robbins

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Dan Robbins? From the Toledo Blade:

Toledo-area artist who created paint-by-numbers pictures dies
An artist who created the first paint-by-numbers pictures and helped turn the kits into an American sensation during the 1950s has died.

Dan Robbins, whose works were dismissed by some critics but later celebrated by the Smithsonian Institution’s National Museum of American History, died Monday in Sylvania, said his son, Larry Robbins. He was 93.

A bit of Americana - sales peaked in 1955 at 20,000,000

Need to get a Medallion Stamp tomorrow for some financial stuff so Bellingham tomorrow and farm later that evening.

From Popular Mechanics:

Report: Russia Engaging in Widespread Satellite Navigation Spoofing
A new report claims that Russian security forces have engaged in extensive spoofing of satellite-based navigation systems, often to protect President Vladimir Putin or Russian armed forces. A report by the nonprofit think tank C4ADS has logged nearly 10,000 instances of spoofing of GPS-type navigation systems,

The report highlights interference operations in the Global Navigation Satellite System, or GNSS. These satellites relay position, navigation and timing signals to cell phones, car navigation systems, and ships at sea 24/7 across the globe, providing location and navigation detail with unparalleled accuracy. Commonly known as GPS in the United States, Russia operates a similar system named GLONASS, Europe’s system is called Galileo, China’s is Beidou, and Japan’s QZSS.

C4ADS is the Center for Advanced Defense Studies and is an independent Military think-tank in D.C. Their website is here C4ADS and the 66 page report can be downloaded from here: Above Us Only Stars

Just skimmed it for a bit but sobering reading. So much of our lives are tied into the GPS system. A lot of the technologies have nothing to do with personal navigation - Enhanced 911 emergency services, all sorts of search and rescue, ambulance, police and fire services. GPS also provides highly accurate timing services to many agencies (including me). Links between telescopes are coordinated with GPS timing. Cell phone and ham radio use GPS timing services. The list is long and the idea that this signal can be distorted or warped gives me a case of the blue-blind paralytic willies...

Life in today's America

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Interesting story - from The Daily Wire:

61-Year-Old Woman Gives Birth To Own Granddaughter For Gay Son Using His Husband's Sister's Egg
Last week, a 61-year-old woman carrying her own granddaughter via a surrogacy pregnancy gave birth in a Nebraska hospital.

Cecile Eledge carried her gay son's daughter to term; the six-pound baby girl, named Uma Louise Dougherty-Eledge, was conceived through in vitro fertilization with her son Matthew Eledge's sperm and his husband's sister's eggs.

According to NBC News, Matthew and his husband Elliot Dougherty decided to have a child using Elliot's sister Lea Yribe's eggs via surrogacy but were "hesitant to go into agencies" due to the conservative nature of the state.

“Nebraska is a bit more conservative, and we were hesitant to go into agencies, and had a bit of fear that maybe some things would hold us back being a gay couple,” Matthew said, according to the outlet.

So, Matthew’s mother offered to carry the baby. “I just never hesitated. I was just so excited to be able to be part of this adventure with them. … It was just unconditional love," she said.

That is going to make family reunions interesting...

Really cute idea

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Bedding from Snurk for Living:

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They have a bunch of others - princesses, fairy, mermaid, unicorn, astronaut, etc... Great idea and implementation.

Out the door

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Showered, shaved and rarin' to go. Coffee, post office, storage unit, library and breakfast.

Meeting tonight and then back up to the farm tomorrow.

Egypt in the news

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Yesterday, I had written about how a West Virginan mom had prevented an Egyptian man from kidnapping her 5-year old daughter. This morning, I see this headline:

Kidnapping, Rape of Egyptian Coptic Christian Girls at Record High

There are no words for this barbaric culture. A culture of hate. A ninth century anachronism perpetuated by their oil money.

Now this sounds like a lot of fun

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From the Stanwood Camano News:

Cruisin' for a cure: Camano Car Guys ship ‘Miss Vicky’ to China for race
The Camano Car Guys gathered to bid Miss Vicky adieu on Wednesday, March 27, at Lee Harman’s home on Camano Island. She’s a 1931 Model A Ford Victoria.

Next month, shortly after she arrives in Beijing, Harman and his long-time buddy Bill Ward will join Miss Vicky and prepare for the Peking to Paris Rally cross-continental road trip.

Harman said it’s through the Car Guys’ efforts that she’s ready for this epic 10,000-mile adventure. It begins June 19 and runs 36 days. They are tough miles.

Harman and Ward are partnering with Rotary’s PolioPlus program to use this trip of a lifetime as a vehicle to raise funds to help eradicate polio around the world.

The duo will pay all trip expenses so that 100 percent of the donations go to PolioPlus. Every donation dollar is tripled by the Gates Foundation. So far, donations are pushing $50,000.

PolioPlus is making a final push to raise the $1.2 billion needed to end the threat of polio.

Good cause too. Talk about an epic journey. From the website for this rally:

The Greatest Motoring Adventure – Peking to Paris 2019
The Peking to Paris Motor Challenge is unique in the motoring world – a true endurance motor rally following in the wheel-tracks of the original pioneers of 1907. Driving an old car nearly half way around the world with a bunch of like-minded enthusiasts, against the clock, with the added spice of timed sections, makes Peking to Paris the longest and toughest driving challenge for Vintage and Classic cars.

Who can participate?
This Peking to Paris Motor Challenge is open to cars of a type produced before 1976 and is suitable to both novice crews, with training and support, as well as experienced rally entrants. Taking an exciting route via gravel, sand and stunning roads, luxurious hotels and desert camping, this is a life changing, never to be forgotten, adventur.

The route is challenging but the Organisers welcome both newcomers and experienced crews. You will need a sense of adventure and be prepared to spend nights under canvas in the deserts of Mongolia and Kazakhstan. The ability to carry out regular maintenance on your own car is essential. Average daily distances are around 400 kilometres but, on occasion, they can be as much as 650 kilometres – it is an endurance event after all.

Just wow... Talk about a grand adventure.

And that is it for the night

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Nothing else catches my eye on the internet - YouTube and then sleep...

I wish her luck - Lori Lightfoot

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Chicago's new mayor - from NBC News:

Lori Lightfoot elected Chicago mayor, will be 1st black woman and 1st openly gay person to hold post
Former federal prosecutor Lori Lightfoot defeated Toni Preckwinkle in a runoff for Chicago mayor Tuesday. She will be the first openly gay person and first black woman to lead the city.

The Associated Press called the race for Lightfoot shortly before 8 p.m. local time.

With over 91 percent of precincts in, Lightfoot led Preckwinkle 73.7 percent to 26.3 percent, according to the Chicago board of elections website.

Lightfoot pumped her fist in the air and the crowd cheered when she said, “Thank you Chicago!”

Sincere in my wishes - Chicago is circling the drain in a lot of ways. She certainly has her work cut out for her and she does not have to do very much to trump Rahm Emanuel's legacy.

And it is island time

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Packed up a couple van loads of stuff for the garage sale and also some cartons of things to go to the island.

You know where this is heading...

Meeting tomorrow evening and then back to the farm - with the condo keys this time.

16 music CDs and two music DVDs waiting for me at the library - spending an hour this evening on the media computer.

Yikes - International Space Station

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From FOX News:

NASA chief warns that debris from India's satellite destruction could endanger astronauts on the ISS
Floating debris from India’s controversial test of an anti-satellite weapon could potentially place the International Space Station at risk, warns NASA administrator Jim Bridenstine.

India test-fired its missile on March 27, destroying a satellite in low-earth orbit.

“Intentionally creating orbital debris fields is not compatible with human spaceflight,” he said, during a NASA town hall event at the agency’s headquarters on Monday. “We’re the only agency in the federal government that has human lives at stake here and it’s not acceptable for us to allow people to create orbital debris fields that put at risk our people.”

I get it. India wanted a seat at the adult's table. It wanted to show that it could work in space. They should have considered the consequences a bit more.

From Breitbart:

Exclusive: Tom Cotton Pushes IRS to Investigate Southern Poverty Law Center’s Tax-Exempt Status
Sen. Tom Cotton (R-AR) is pressing the IRS to investigate the tax-exempt status of leftist group Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC), an organization that has been mired in scandal.

Cotton argues that a series of recent reports regarding the leftist group’s patently political activities are troubling, and in a letter to the head of the IRS provided to Breitbart News exclusively ahead of its public release questions whether these actions warrant removal of the group’s status as a nonprofit organization.

“I am writing to urge you to investigate whether the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) should retain its classification as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization,” Cotton wrote in the Tuesday letter to IRS Commissioner Charles Rettig. “Recent news reports have confirmed the long-established fact that the SPLC regularly engages in defamation of its political opponents. In fact, the SPLC’s defining characteristic is to fundraise off of defamation.”

Much more at the site - I hope they lose their tax exempt status. Their primary business is shaking people down.

From FOX News:

'Incredible' 900-year-old copper arrowhead discovered on Canadian mountain
A rare copper arrowhead discovered on a remote Canadian mountain is almost 900 years old, archaeologists have confirmed.

The arrowhead, which is at the tip of a perfectly preserved antler arrow, was found sticking out of an ice patch in Canada’s Yukon Territory. The find, which was made in 2016 on an unnamed mountain, surprised experts.

“It was found near the top of a snow-capped mountain in South West Yukon,” Yukon Archaeologist Greg Hare told Fox News. “It was an incredible discovery, we really didn’t intend to be on that [ice] patch on that day."

And a bit more:

Archaeologists have recovered about 250 objects from melting ice patches in Southern Yukon, almost all of which have been bows and arrows or throwing darts.

What is not mentioned in the article is that, by definition, this area was relatively ice-free 900 years ago. It was then ice covered and now the ice is melting again.

Done with lunch

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Back to work...

Whoops - Texas Judge

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Should have studied the State Constitution a bit more - from Reuters:

Texas civil court judge accidentally resigns
An April Fools’ Day resignation prank? One Texas civil court judge wishes it were so.

A newly elected judge in Houston accidentally resigned on Monday, according to local media and a county official, after he shared plans online to run for the state supreme court, apparently unaware that the Texas constitution considers such an announcement an automatic resignation.

The Harris County Civil Court judge, Bill McLeod, did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Tuesday. Local TV station KHOU 11 News on Monday reported that McLeod declined to comment on the move.

Article 16, Section 65, of the state’s constitution says that a judge’s announcement of candidacy for another office “shall constitute an automatic resignation of the office then held.”

Heh...

Guns in the news

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Good news - from the New York Times:

Police: Mom With Gun Ends Abduction Attempt in West Virginia
Police in West Virginia say a man was trying to abduct a child at a mall when the mother stopped him by pulling out a gun.

News outlets report 54-year-old Mohamed Fathy Hussein Zayan of Alexandria, Egypt, was arraigned Monday night in Cabell County Magistrate Court on a felony charge of attempted abduction.

According to a criminal complaint, a woman was shopping with her 5-year-old daughter at the Huntington Mall in Barboursville when a man grabbed the girl by the hair and tried to pull her away. Police say the mother pulled out a gun and told the suspect to let go of the child. The man released the child and was later detained by mall security and Barboursville police near a food court.

No word as to spiritual practice or immigration status of the goblin but Mohammed married his third wife (he had twelve others) when she was six or seven years old. Possibly nine - accounts vary.

Quote of the day

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It is a good rule in life never to apologize. The right sort of people do not want apologies, and the wrong sort take a mean advantage of them.
--P. G. Wodehouse

This is especially apt for the perpetually agrieved - the social justice warriors.

And back again - unpack the van

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Spend the day boxing more stuff up.

Wonderful weather - light high clouds and temps already in the 60's. Got some precip forecast to move in tomorrow.

I want this shirt

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From Terrierman:

20190402-dog.JPG

Public health - two stories

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Cheer you up - first, from Associated Press:

US health officials alarmed by paralyzing illness in kids
One morning last fall, 4-year-old Joey Wilcox woke up with the left side of his face drooping.

It was the first sign of an unfolding nightmare.

Three days later, Joey was in a hospital intensive care unit, unable to move his arms or legs or sit up. Spinal taps and other tests failed to find a cause. Doctors worried he was about to lose the ability to breathe.

“It’s devastating,” said his father, Jeremy Wilcox, of Herndon, Virginia. “Your healthy child can catch a cold — and then become paralyzed.”

Joey, who survived but still suffers some of the effects, was one of 228 confirmed victims in the U.S. last year of acute flaccid myelitis, or AFM, a rare, mysterious and sometimes deadly paralyzing illness that seems to ebb and flow on an every-other-year cycle and is beginning to alarm public health officials because it is striking more and more children.

Dr. Anthony Fauci, head of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, said it may bear similarities to polio, which smoldered among humans for centuries before it exploded into fearsome epidemics in the 19th and 20th centuries.

Like the article says - it will simmer until it hits critical mass and then whammo! No bueno.

Second - Ebola - from Reuters:

Congo Ebola outbreak spreading faster than ever: WHO
Democratic Republic of Congo’s Ebola outbreak is spreading at its fastest rate yet, eight months after it was first detected, the World Health Organization (WHO) said on Monday.

Each of the past two weeks has registered a record number of new cases, marking a sharp setback for efforts to respond to the second biggest outbreak ever, as militia violence and community resistance have impeded access to affected areas.

This scares me - you can be contagious for several days before you start to manifest any symptoms. Get on an airplane, cough a few times and we now have 300 carriers.

I will never ever live in a large city again. This is for many reasons.

DOH! - Condo keys

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Got the van packed up and was heading out for coffee and then to the condo. Realized that the condo keys were in the Highlander. Parked down on the island.

Still heading out for coffee in a few minutes but then back to the farm to unpack and continue to box stuff up.

Feeling a bit sheepish...

The welfare trap

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Great essay on why progressivism / socialism never works. It sounds good and a lot of people push a narrative instead of facts but... From the Mises Institute:

How Countries Fall into the Welfare Trap
People like the welfare state because they suppose that it comes at no costs and provides many benefits. If people knew how much the present consumption of social benefits entails less prosperity in the future, the population would have a critical attitude towards the welfare state and politicians would have a harder time selling their fraud. Just as a society that ranks security over liberty loses both, a society that attributes a higher value to social benefits than to wealth creation ends up with neither wealth nor benefits.

A short-term perspective is intrinsic to modern democracy. It is run not by the people but by political parties. Such a political system promotes the redistribution of the cake and neglects that the goods must be produced before they can be consumed. Without production, however, there can be no distribution. The illusion is widespread and propagated by the political machinery that production is independent of its distribution so that one could redistribute without weakening production. Yet how the product is distributed affects its future making.

A long read but a very very good one. This is what I consider to be the key difference between the liberal and the conservative thought process - the liberal mind seeks out a narrative, a story. Many of the failed liberal policies started because they sounded good without people looking at the consequences. In philosophy, this is called rhetoric. The conservative mind looks for numbers and analysis. This sounds good but what if? This is dialectic - not to be confused with Karl Marx's appropriation of this word for his own fuzzy-headed scribblings.

Interesting that the Greek Philosophers had this all figured out in 700AD

Signs of the times - Las Vegas

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From Las Vegas station KTNV:

Narcan now available in Las Vegas vending machines
Narcan is now available in vending machines within the Las Vegas valley.

These machines won't potentially subtract years from your life, but instead, it could save your life - making a huge difference in the fight against opioid addiction in Southern Nevada.

You have to register and get a card to use these machines but still, a great idea.

Venezuela then and now

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What a difference forty years makes - from the Panam Post:

Venezuela Then and Now: The “Achievements” of Chavista Socialism
Venezuela is a country that has changed a lot since its golden years, those in which it was the symbolic capital of Latin America, due to its progress, drive and sustained economic growth. Today, Venezuela is the poorest country in the region. All this happened after 20 years of socialism. Rather than writing a reflection or analysis of this situation, I present some data that shows the radical changes from the era of democratic Venezuela of the 1980s, to the current Venezuela governed by Chavismo.

Immigration and emigration:
1979: During the process of registration of foreigners, the government announces that they will be granting residence visas to Colombians with more than five years in the country.
2019: More than one million Venezuelans are living in Colombia as refugees.

Infrastructure and services:
1979: The West Tower of the Central Park Complex is inaugurated. At the time it was the tallest skyscraper in Latin America.
2019: Water does not reach the buildings of Caracas.

Communication and press freedom:
1980: Color television transmissions are officially launched throughout the country.
2019: 115 media outlets have closed since the arrival of Nicolás Maduro to power.

Import and local production:
1980: The decree launching the slogan “Buy Venezuelan” is published in Official Gazette No. 32,329, in order to reduce the number of imports to favor domestic companies.
2019: Venezuela imports 75% of the food consumed in the country.

Many more of these at the site. Socialism has never ever worked.

Rot at the top - Rep. Ilhan Omar

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From the Rochester, New York ABC affiliate:

EXCLUSIVE: Omar facing campaign finance probe
Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., the controversial freshman House Democrat, is soon to learn the results of a probe into her campaign spending as a state lawmaker in Minnesota, Sinclair has learned, with authorities there having recently completed their investigation and preparing to issue rulings in a pair of complaints Omar faces.

If Hillary was Prez, this would never have seen the light of day. Time to drain the swamp. Rules for thee and not for me.

Heh - April Fools

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So true:

20190401-fools.jpg

Tip of the hat to Denny at Grouchy Old Cripple

Now this looks like a lot of fun

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THE DEAD DON’T DIE
The greatest zombie cast ever disassembled starring Bill Murray, Adam Driver, Tilda Swinton, Chloë Sevigny, Steve Buscemi, Danny Glover, Caleb Landry Jones, Rosie Perez, Iggy Pop, Sara Driver, RZA, Selena Gomez, Carol Kane, Austin Butler, Luka Sabbat and Tom Waits. Written and directed by Jim Jarmusch. In Theaters June 14th. 

And out the door

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Coffee, post office, library and heading North.

ThinkGeek did not dissapoint

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Check out this toaster from Banksey - only $1,370,000.00

More here, here, here and here

Happy April Fools day everyone!

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