September 2019 Archives

A collection of links - EBL

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From Evil Blogger Lady:

Coup d'Trump
Guess who went to Ukraine on a fake passport?  Barack's Dirty Bag Boy: Comrade John Brennan

Obama sent Brennan to dig up dirt on Trump during the 2016 election. That was perfectly ok.  

But Trump mentions Democrat corruption: Katy Bar The Door!

There is a political coup going on. The Democrats did not like the results of the 2016 election. Given that their attempts to take out Trump with Mueller did not work they switched to Plan B (this Ukrainian nonsense). They are doing everything they can to delegitimize and destroy Donald Trump. 

I am sure President Trump will fight back, but the public needs to fight back too--twice as hard. Resist it. This is an attack on you.  

Rush Limbaugh: Brennan went to Ukraine on a fake passport,
If the case against Trump is so strong, why do the Democrats have to lie about it?,
Biden asks TV Networks to ban Rudy, and 
Everything you are hearing about impeachment is a lie

AoSHQ: Sweating Intelligence Moles and Partisans,
AG Barr openly on his way to Italy,
Jake Tapper threatens his critics with Democrat Attorneys, and
Morning Report 09.30.19

Instapundit: HEADS. ON. PIKES. POUR ENCOURAGER LES AUTRES: The Comey-Brennan Conspiracy to Violate Trump’s Civil Rights.

Legal Insurrection: 60 Minutes literally making things up and Biden wants Rudy banned

TOM: If Trump’s Not #Winning, Why Does Biden Want to Silence Giuliani?

Powerline: Four Theories on Impeachment and Banning Biden

Don Surber: JFK on Impeachment and Hillary Setback

A good précis on this latest media spin-cycle. Bring popcorn and a cold one.

As the plot thickens - Ukraine

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From Breitbart:

Ukraine Mystery: Schiff Staffer Made August Visit for Think Tank Backed by Hunter Biden’s Old Employer
A staffer for Rep. Adam Schiff’s House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence took a trip to Ukraine last month sponsored and organized by the Atlantic Council think tank.

The Atlantic Council is funded by and routinely works in partnership with Burisma, the natural gas company at the center of allegations regarding Joe Biden and his son, Hunter Biden.

The Schiff staffer, Thomas Eager, is also currently one of 19 fellows at the Atlantic Council’s Eurasia Congressional Fellowship, a bipartisan program that says it “educates congressional staff on current events in the Eurasia region.”

Lots of links at the site including a screen-cap of the post-travel disclosure form filed with the House Committee on Ethics documenting the visit to Ukraine and signed by Messrs. Eager and Schiff.

Plausible deniability? I think not. Deep state action against a sitting President of the United States? You Betcha!

POG - Piling on Greta

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Not the Hawaiian fruit drink (delicious stuff if a bit sweet). From American Thinker:

Sorry, Greta, even your fellow Swedes aren't buying the climate change claptrap anymore
Greta Thunberg, the Swedish child activist who doesn't know much but is very certain of what she's saying, is having her heyday in the U.S., fiercely putting on her "I won't eat those peas" face for the cameras, telling the U.S. Congress they're not trying hard enough, leading a giant global protest . today, and getting hailed as the child savior of the Earth.

Just one glitch here.  Her home nation of Sweden — yes, you read right: Sweden — isn't buying the global warming claptrap anymore.  Mark Morano over at Climate Depot has found a damning survey.

Her fifteen minutes are done. Under the bus with her. Next?

Lots more at the site - some good links. Greta is being managed by people who are raking in serious Benjamins with the climate scam. This is not grass-roots by any definition.

Stuffed - pasta and beer

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Loads of carbs but it feels so good that I do indulge myself every so often.

Time for dinner - pasta

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Don't feel like cooking tonight so heading out for a big bowl of pasta and two beers at my local.

Back in a few...

Corruption in high places

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From the web:

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Could surprise me - NOT!

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Communists = stupid people. From The Washington Times:

Communist Party, USA praises Democrats' policy shifts ahead of centennial celebration
The Communist Party of the USA will celebrate its 100th birthday this weekend in Chicago, at a conference replete with questions about what the future holds for the organization when national Democrats already embrace some of its most coveted goals.

The talk in the run-up to the conference includes questions on whether Communists should embrace Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez’s Green New Deal proposal — a resounding “yes” — and whether China finally has succeeded with the socialist experiment.

Once in town, party members will vote on resolutions on expanding voting rights, legalizing illegal immigrants and opposing Republicans in the 2020 elections — largely echoing what one might hear at a Democrat-led press conference on Capitol Hill nowadays.

One has only to read the Ten Planks of the Communist Manifesto (another sodding manifesto) to see how far these rats have taken our nation:

1 Abolition of property in land and application of all rents of land to public purposes.
2 A heavy progressive or graduated income tax.
3 Abolition of all rights of inheritance.
4 Confiscation of the property of all emigrants and rebels.
5 Centralization of credit in the hands of the state, by means of a national bank with State capital and an exclusive monopoly.
6 Centralization of the means of communication and transport in the hands of the State.
7 Extension of factories and instruments of production owned by the State; the bringing into cultivation of waste-lands, and the improvement of the soil generally in accordance with a common plan.
8 Equal liability of all to work. Establishment of industrial armies, especially for agriculture.
9 Combination of agriculture with manufacturing industries; gradual abolition of all the distinction between town and country by a more equable distribution of the populace over the country.
10 Free education for all children in public schools. Abolition of children’s factory labour in its present form. Combination of education with industrial production, Etc, Etc.

I rest my case...

A big hunk of glass

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From Digital Photography Review:

The world's largest optical lens has been delivered for a $168M, 3.2-gigapixel telescope camera
The SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory in California, the lab overseeing the design and fabrication of a 3.2-gigapixel digital camera for the Large Synoptic Survey Telescope (LSST), has successfully received the shipment of what may be the world's largest high-performance optical lens. The announcement was made earlier this month by the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL), where researchers designed the optical assemblies for the LSST.

Here is a two minute fly-through of the scope (no audio - just video):

Impressive - heading up to Chile's Atacama Desert. Would not mind going there for a visit, looks austere and gorgeous.

From Pierce Points:

WILL THIS TRUMP MOVE TRIGGER A COAL AND NUCLEAR BUILDING SPREE?
You probably haven’t heard about it. But one of the most critical energy developments in years is now gearing up for a major battle in America.

That’s a slate of new regulations around power pricing across the U.S. Which have been proposed by the Trump-era Department of Energy (DOE), in order to give coal and nuclear power generation a boost — opened for public comment this week.

Here’s the crux: the new DOE rules aim to ensure “reliability and resiliency” of power generation in America. By rewarding electricity producers who are able to generate continuous and steady power supply.

There are a couple of key pieces to the exact wording here. One being that electricity grid operators will be required to provide “full cost recovery” to some power-producing facilities. Specifically, those power plants that “maintain 90-day on-site fuel supplies”.

That basically means nuclear and coal-fired plants. With these solid-fuel driven facilities being the only ones that keep large fuel inventories on-site — unlike alternative generation methods like natural gas, hydro and renewables.

Very good news - it was cheap reliable energy that lifted us out of the stone age. The more we have, the better our standard of living and quality of life. Also, the more we can spread this around to developing nations and raise them up as well.

Given my druthers, I would go 100% nuclear but that is just my two cents.

Great quote - people v/s the state

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"Everyone wants to live at the expense of the state. They forget that the state lives at the expense of everyone."
--Frederic Bastiat

Ned Ludd call your office

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From the London Daily Mail:

British employees are deliberately sabotaging workplace robots over fears the machines will take their jobs, new study claims
UK workers are sabotaging and assaulting workplace robots in an attempt to stop them taking their jobs, finds study.

More on the study:

The study by De Montfort University in Leicester which looked into the use of robotics in healthcare concluded that UK workers are particularly apposed to the introduction of the intelligent machines into the work place.

Compared to Norway where the study found co-working robots are often given affectionate names and welcomed.

Jonathan Payne, Professor of Work, Employment and Skills, said: 'We heard stories of workers standing in the way of robots, and minor acts of sabotage - and not playing along with them.'

Ned Ludd? From here: Luddite  Dates back to the 1780's

Enough dawdling - back to work

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Gorgeous day - time to get back to work

More guns, less crime - the FBI

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Interesting numbers from the FBI:

FBI Releases 2018 Crime Statistics
For the second consecutive year, the estimated number of violent crimes in the nation decreased when compared with the previous year’s statistics, according to FBI figures released today. In 2018, violent crime was down 3.3 percent from the 2017 number. Property crimes also dropped 6.3 percent, marking the 16th consecutive year the collective estimates for these offenses declined.

The 2018 statistics show the estimated rate of violent crime was 368.9 offenses per 100,000 inhabitants, and the estimated rate of property crime was 2,199.5 offenses per 100,000 inhabitants. The violent crime rate fell 3.9 percent when compared with the 2017 rate; the property crime rate declined 6.9 percent.

These and additional data are presented in the 2018 edition of the FBI’s annual report Crime in the United States. This publication is a statistical compilation of offense, arrest, and police employee data reported by law enforcement agencies voluntarily participating in the FBI’s Uniform Crime Reporting (UCR) Program.

The full report is here: Crime in the U.S.

The temperature record in Australia

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An interesting look at the temperature in Australia - from Real Climate Science:

Australia Shows No Warming Since 1876
There are 25 locations in Australia with daily temperature data going back before 1890. This graph shows all 1,389,419 daily maximum temperature readings at those locations since 1876.

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The actual waveform is a 120 year long cycle. The hottest year was 1902 and the second hottest was 2018. Australia was cold during the 1970s  ice age scare, just like everywhere else.

The article also compares and contrasts this historical record with the Australian Bureau of Meteorology:

The real graph looks nothing like the fake graph generated by BOM, which uses hundreds of fragmented stations with short term records homogenized together into a meaningless hodgepodge of politically useful nonsense.

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A perfect example of cherry-picking your data to fit your agenda. Look at ANY historical weather record and you will find zero evidence of catastrophic temperature rise. We had the Modern Warm Period which started in 1914, got going in 1970 and is ending. Now, we are entering a cool period as our sun goes quiet.

The idea that us humans have anything to do with this (beyond a couple percent) is pure fscking hubris.

An interesting look at scientific writing

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From Nature:

Novelist Cormac McCarthy’s tips on how to write a great science paper
For the past two decades, Cormac McCarthy — whose ten novels include The RoadNo Country for Old Men and Blood Meridian — has provided extensive editing to numerous faculty members and postdocs at the Santa Fe Institute (SFI) in New Mexico. He has helped to edit works by scientists such as Harvard University’s first tenured female theoretical physicist, Lisa Randall, and physicist Geoffrey West, who authored the popular-science book Scale.

Interesting cross-pollination here. The paper lists the tips and they are excellent for any kind of writing.

Now this looks good - War of the Worlds

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Set in the period - looks gorgeous:

Some bad drugs in Franklin County, Ohio

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Yikes - from CBS News:

Coroner reports 10 overdose deaths in 26-hour period in one Ohio county
The coroner of Ohio's most populous county reported 10 deaths from drug overdoses in a 26-hour period that ended at 10 a.m. Sunday morning. In a statement published on Facebook, Franklin County Coroner Dr. Anahi Ortiz said, "This is an unusually high number for our county in this period of time."

Dr. Ortiz urged residents to carry naloxone — an anti-overdose medication that treats narcotic overdoses immediately. She also cautioned residents about the dangers of fentanyl, a hyper-powerful, synthetic opioid that can easily be mixed with cocaine and methamphetamine and even black market opioid pills.

The reason is not named but the article mentions fentanyl a lot. Most of this is coming from China.

Turned into a gorgeous fall day

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Temp is 58 - nice and crisp. Small fluffy clouds and not much wind. Perfect for working outside and in the garage with the doors and windows open - air out the house.

Break for lunch and email...

Been there, done that, got the tee-shirt

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Found at Peter's:

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Fake News - CBS 60 Minutes

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From Politico:

Whistleblower's attorney says '60 Minutes' misinterpreted letter in federal protection report
An attorney for the whistleblower in the Trump-Ukraine scandal said Sunday that CBS’ “60 Minutes” had “completely misinterpreted” a document from his legal group, after the news outlet tweeted that the whistleblower was now under federal protection.

On Sunday night, CBS wrote on Twitter: “‘60 Minutes’ has obtained a letter that indicates the government whistleblower who set off the impeachment inquiry of President Trump is under federal protection because they fear for their safety.”

Get your story straight guys and then talk to me. Sheesh. A simple thing like that and they get it wrong.

You can read the letter here: RE: Safety Concerns Regarding the Intelligence Community Whistleblower

Six paragraphs and nothing about "federal protection" - CBS blew it big-time. Fake News.

Just wonderful - flu vaccine

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They got it wrong for this year. From Stat:

Flu vaccine selections may be an ominous sign for this winter
It’s never an easy business to predict which flu viruses will make people sick the following winter. And there’s reason to believe two of the four choices made last winter for this upcoming season’s vaccine could be off the mark.

Twice a year influenza experts meet at the World Health Organization to pore over surveillance data provided by countries around the world to try to predict which strains are becoming the most dominant. The Northern Hemisphere strain selection meeting is held in late February; the Southern Hemisphere meeting occurs in late September.

The selections that officials made last week for the next Southern Hemisphere vaccine suggest that two of four viruses in the Northern Hemisphere vaccine that doctors and pharmacies are now pressing people to get may not be optimally protective this winter. Those two are influenza A/H3N2 and the influenza B/Victoria virus.

So basically, of the four strains in this years vaccine, two of them may be wrong. Predicting is a crap-shoot regardless and they have done worse but they have also done better. Thinking of skipping my shot this year.

Overcast - not sunny

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But the clouds may clear later this afternoon. No rain forecast anyway.

Put in a couple hours here and then out for coffee.

Bill Maher is on a conservative roll

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First this: An amazing bit of truth from Bill Maher

Now this:

Pure gold

Our quiet sun

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Spaceweather takes note of our quiet sun:

2019 IS A DEEP SOLAR MINIMUM:
Today, the sun racked up its 198th spotless day of the year. So far in 2019, the sun has been blank 73% of the time. This is the same percentage as the year 2008--previously the least sun-spotty year of the Space Age. If Solar Minimum continues to deepen, 2019 will soon claim the undisputed throne of Space Age spotlessness, marking it as a century-class minimum in solar activity.

Sunspots are a measure of solar output. Low numbers = low output. This explains the record early snowfalls, the colder weather, the fact that Glacier National Park had to quietly remove a bunch of signage.

Looking at global cooling, not warming. Anyone who tells you differently is running on narrative and not facts.

Nothing on the nets

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Going to make it an early bedtime - get up early to use the clear monday and tuesday. May do another quick run up to the farm. Working outside tomorrow.

Watch a couple videos and then to sleep...

Woo Hoo! Some clear weather

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Looks like Monday and Tuesday are going to be clear and sunny. We have been having a lot of overcast and rain - more than usual. I still need to mulch and plant the cover crop for the areas of the lawn that I am turning into a garden next spring. This will be a good time - want to get the existing grass as dry as possible. Going to be mowing it and then putting it under a tarp to compost. Lined up with my coffee place to get their daily grounds for a couple of weeks.
All-around good stuff for the garden.

Lining up some wood chips as well - get those going over the winter.

Gotta go

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Those two beers are calling my name and I can not resist.

Back in a few...

Not just us - winter storms

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We got off easy - two clickable headlines:

Set some records - from the first link:

Over 9 inches of snowfall was recorded by the National Weather Service in Great Falls, Montana, on Saturday alone, an all-time record daily snowfall in September there. Its total of 18.8 inches since Saturday is an all-time autumn two-day snowstorm record, topping the previous record of 16.1 inches from Nov. 26-27, 2005, according to NOAA's ACIS database records dating to 1937. It is already the snowiest September in Great Falls, topping September 1934's 13.2 inches of snowfall.

Global warming anyone?

Of course it would be Portland - urinals

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Portland is going to drag the rest of Oregon down with them. There are some beautiful spots in OR but Portland is not one of them - with the exception of Powell's Books - that place is incredible. From Red State:

Portland Bans Urinals To Respect ‘Shared Values,’ Charges Taxpayers $200M. Plus: A Mind-Bending History Of Gender Rules
I’m confused.

I can’t quite make out what’s happening.

First, we were told calling out someone’s gender is wrong — waitress, waiter, etc. Then we were told gender doesn’t exist — it’s a social construct. Then we were told gender is inherent, therefore people can legally change theirs with medical confirmation. Then we were told that gender isn’t really gender at all — despite the antiquated notion of female and male — and despite the fact that the very notion of gender comes from the existence of binary biological sex — there are actually limitless genders (here).

And the meat of the story:

“I’m not a man; I’m a woman.” “I’m not a woman or a man; I’m a banana slug.” Okay, but speaking words doesn’t change the way your pee comes out.

Nevertheless, the hipster town sent out an email to city employees last February regarding the remodeled public Portland Building:

We will continue to have gender-specific (male and female) multi-stall restrooms that are readily available to any employee that prefers to use one. But, there will be no urinals in any restroom in the building. This will give us the flexibility we need for any future changes in signage.

Therefore, urinals are banned, even in the Men’s room. (Paris has the opposite idea — see here.)

The article also quotes this from Lars Larson (an excerpt):

Finally, in a place constantly lecturing us about protecting the environment (you know, plastic straws etc) this will waste a tremendous amount of water.

I checked and most urinals take as little as a pint of water per flush (1/8 gallon). Even "modern" toilets flush with more than a gallon of water. Some "no flush" urinals use no water at all. Multiply this by hundreds of thousands of flushes a year. Figure out how this makes sense.

Doing something that sounds good as opposed to something that does good. Unintended consequences and all that...

Joe Biden in the news - again

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This is downright unreal - from The Daily Beast:

Biden Campaign Demands TV News Execs Stop Booking Giuliani
Joe Biden’s presidential campaign made an extraordinary request to executives of top news channels on Sunday, asking them to no longer book Donald Trump’s personal lawyer, Rudy Giuliani, on their programs.

In a letter addressed to the heads of the major news and cable networks, as well as top news anchors, two top Biden campaign advisers make the case that by peddling routine falsehoods about the work of Biden and his son Hunter in Ukraine, Giuliani’s presence on the airwaves is editorially untenable.

“We are writing today with grave concern that you continue to book Rudy Giuliani on your air to spread false, debunked conspiracy theories on behalf of Donald Trump. While you often fact check his statements in real time during your discussions, that is no longer enough. By giving him your air time, you are allowing him to introduce increasingly unhinged, unfounded and desperate lies into the national conversation,” the letter from top aides Anita Dunn and Kate Bedingfield reads.

Heh - the Democrats' lock on the media is weakening and they are trying everything they can to keep their control. Can't have facts muddying up the narrative.

Back home again

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Dump run and then went up to Walmart to pick up two laundry baskets (had two, needed two more) as well as some groceries. Stopped at the food coop for more groceries and had an early dinner at the Pyung Chang Korean BBQ on 2nd Street in Mt. Vernon. First time there and will be returning. Really great food and huge portions. The quality of ingredients was top notch. Nice staff. $16 and I am stuffed with a nice doggy-bag for lunch tomorrow.

Quick surf of the web, load up the washing machine and then head out for those two beers with my name on them.

Yikes - big quake off the coast of Chile

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See what the day brings

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Heading out for coffee and a dump run. Taking some things to the storage locker as well.

Nice crisp fall day - temps got down below 50 last night. Time to switch the heat pump to warm mode.

Nothing much happening on the web - quiet weekend.

A Seattle landmark - Macy's

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From The Seattle Times:

Macy’s is closing its landmark downtown Seattle store in February
Macy’s landmark store at Third Avenue and Pine Street in downtown Seattle will close in February of next year, the company confirmed Saturday, ending a long history of retail and holiday tradition as its online rival Amazon has continued to grow under its own roof.

The announcement of the store’s upcoming closure came one day after employees were told of the decision by the longtime retailer, which took over the block-long building at 300 Pine Street from The Bon Marché in 2003. The closure ends a 90-year run of retail in that space.

“After careful consideration, Macy’s, Inc. has decided to sell the Downtown Seattle Macy’s building,” Blair Rosenberg, Macy’s director of corporate communications, said in a statement. Rosenberg’s statement did not detail the reasons behind the decision to sell.

Buried in paragraphs 13-15 is one possible reason:

Said Laura Heydrich: “My first thought is, is it closing for the same reason Bartell’s is closing?” she asked. “The crime?”

Last week, the locally owned drugstore chain announced it was closing its Third Avenue and Union Street location early next year because of the neighborhood’s crime rates and the city’s regulations on businesses.

“I come in (to Macy’s) when I get prompted, like when there’s a gift with purchasing makeup,” Laura Heydrich said. “The homeless people outside deter you from coming in. I feel safer at home (shopping online).”

Seattle's last Republican mayor left office in 1969. Used to be a wonderful city as cities go.

Snowfall

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Quite a bit earlier than usual - from Cliff Mass:

Early Snow Hits the Northwest
With cold air and plenty of moisture, an early snow has blanketed parts of our region....with convective cells even bringing temporary icing to Portland and vicinity. Blizzard conditions with winds gusting to 50 mph and feet of snow are hitting parts of Montana.

Some of the images this morning are downright...chilling.

Mission Ridge, at 4500 ft above Wenatchee, looks like it received just under a foot by 8 AM this morning.

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As far as I can tell, the roat to Artist Point is still open. That usually gets closed in October - last year was the 28th.

Sleepy

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Time for bed - all the sun and walking around the farm made me nice and sleepy. Plus, coming down off the sugar high of those doughnuts and that pie.

Piling on Greta

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Been piling on her recently because she and her sister are such self-centered, entitled and spoiled brats. Greta has let herself become a tool of a corporation promoting global warming as a way to make money for it's founders (friends of Al Gore). When she is no longer useful to these people, she will be discarded like a spent tissue.

Saw this on the web:

“You ruined my childhood.” (quote from her UN rant)

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Reminds me of Veruca Salt. Greta's parents need to be called out for their child abuse. They seem to have let her and her sister get away with anything they wanted to. They yielded to their manipulation and reinforced the idea that these children could get away with anything they wanted. There were no boundries of what is acceptable and what is not.

Child abuse plain and simple - a lot of fscking snowflakes out there. A lot of damage done.

Stormy weather

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The Gale warning has been downgraded to Small Craft Advisory but the wind is coming out of the north. The prevailing winds here usually come out of the south and since my water frontage faces due north, my deck is getting quite wet. Happens a couple times/year so no big deal - plus, the tide is going out. Nice waves though - quite the chop running.

Very high tide expected for Sunday evening though - I will see if there is anything interesting to photograph or video.

Never got to the dump run today - do that tomorrow...

Apple festival

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Cider and apple donuts. Mmmmmmm... Got my sugar fix for the next month or so but really tasty.

A few photos:

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A sampling of the varieties they are growing - about 80 in all, some of the trees did not fruit this year as many of the plantings are only 2-3 years old. Lots of heirloom varietals - these are often much more delicious but to not respond well to cold storage or mechanical harvesting so they are not available for sale in stores.

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These apples (and pears) have been sweated - picked and then stored for a week or two until they get just a little mushy. This is a standard procedure and makes them yield a lot more cider.

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Making cider - William on the left is feeding cut apple pieces into the grinder. The pommace falls into a bag in the press basket and is then slid to the right. I forget the guy's name on the right but he is turning the screw to apply pressure and squeeze out the cider. The people in back are cutting the whole apples and pears into quarters so they grind more efficiently. The spent pommace in the wheelbarrow to the far right will be fed to their chickens, goats and alpacas.

They did a big pot of chili and one of the farm crew is an incredible baker - she did a bunch of doughnuts as well as pies and various other treats. Really good people there. I talked to their leader and he is definitely interested in my own commercial cider equipment as well as a bunch of my culinary bits and bobs - downsizing and it will be nice for these things to find a good home.

Coffee time

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Bills paid. The post office is at the same place as my coffee so two birds with one stone. Do the dump run after that. Got a book to drop off at the library.

Been greatly enjoying the writings of Douglas Preston & Lincoln Child. Read through most of the Pendergast series (he is a very eccentric FBI Special Investigator) and now starting on their other works. 

An amazing bit of truth from Bill Maher

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From Gateway Pundit:

Bill Maher Dishes on Biden Crime Family, “If Don Jr. Did What Hunter Biden Did, “It Would be All Rachel Maddow Was Talking About”
On Friday night’s “Real Time” with host Bill Maher the far left host dropped a surprising bit of truth on his audience.

Maher told his audience, “Why can’t politicians tell their f*cking kids, “Get a job!”… If Don Jr. did what Hunter Biden did, “It would be all Rachel Maddow was talking about.”

The audience was stunned into silence after that truth bomb.

Of course, Maher is talking about Hunter Biden’s multimillion dollar deal with the Ukrainian regime followed up by his $1.5 billion deal with the Chinese.

Joe Biden famously got the Ukrainian prosecutor fired who was looking into his son’s pay-for-play scandal in Ukraine.

Video here: Every once in a while Bill Maher spits out a bit of truth.

They are out of touch with the world. From their website: Anti-Defamation League

"OK" and Other Alt Right Memes and Slogans Added to ADL's Hate Symbols Database
New York, NY, September 26, 2019 … ADL (the Anti-Defamation League) has expanded and updated its online resource of hate symbols to include 36 new entries, including white supremacist symbols adopted in recent years by the alt right segment of the white supremacist movement.

The symbols, including the Dylann Roof Bowlcut, the ”Moon Man,” the “Happy Merchant” and logos for a number of new white supremacist groups have been added to “Hate on Display,” ADL’s longstanding online database that provides explanations for many of the symbols, memes and slogans most frequently used by a variety of white supremacist and other hate groups.

“Even as extremists continue to use symbols that may be years or decades old, they regularly create new symbols, memes and slogans to express their hateful sentiments,” said Jonathan Greenblatt, ADL CEO. “We believe law enforcement and the public needs to be fully informed about the meaning of these images, which can serve as a first warning sign to the presence of haters in a community or school.”

I wonder just how much Mr. Greenblatt makes per year. This is ridiculous. The real problem is that some of the 214 entries in their databases are very legitimate racist white supremacy symbols and need to be promoted to a wider audience so the general public can be more aware of what is happening in their neighborhood. Including the "OK" sign as well as about 40% of their listing dilutes the efficacy of their efforts. The Celtic Cross is listed for heaven's sake.

What is even more disturbing is that their "database" contains nothing from the South American gangs that have invaded our nation. Mara Salvatrucha (aka MS-13)? Not a peep. Latin Kings? Nope. Nuestra Familia, Barrio 18,  Mexican Mafia, Barrio Azteca, Trinitarios, Ñetas, Comando Vermelho? All of these are major criminal gangs operating in the United States and have zero mention in the ADL database.

Guess that they are pandering to the "illegal immigrant good" narrative and the ADL doesn't want to offend their donors.

Heaven help you should you say that everything is OK and flash the hand signal. That would be raaacisssss...

Beto is not that bright

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Presidential candidate Robert Francis O'Rourke needs to brush up on his history. From Reason:

Beto Goes to Kent State, Argues Only the Government Can Be Trusted With Guns
Of all the places to argue that only the government should be trusted with guns, Beto O'Rourke picked…Kent State University.

Kent State is, of course, the location of the infamous 1970 shooting that left four students dead and nine others injured. The shots were fired not by private citizens but by members of the Ohio National Guard, who shot at a crowd protesting America's involvement in the Vietnam War.

The numbers do not lie. There are more guns in private ownership in the United States than there are US Citizens.

Seriously, if guns were the problem, it would be extremely evident.

The people in back of Greta

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Interesting tweet:

Of course she is being manipulated and no wonder that they are friends of Al Gore. Here is the website for that organization: We Don't Have Time. Typical - 100% action and 0% science. 100% narrative and 0% fact.

They have a page for potential investors (making money off the scam) and, of course, they have a manifesto.
Every baseless activist group has a manifesto. Every whacked out public shooter has a manifesto. The Unabomber had a manifesto. You have to be seriously cray-cray to write a manifesto. Or just a self-righteous crank.

The whole sordid backstory can be found at Technocracy News. More here.

An excellent snapshot into the mental health of Greta and her whole family can be found here.

Nothing much today

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Don't see anything that catches my eye on the web this morning.

Still need to do that second dump run so planning that for this morning - got some bills that need paying too.

The farm that I like is having an apple-fest this afternoon. Heading out for that if we don't get that gale.

Didn't have a crane?

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How not to unload a rail car:

That will require some work to clean up. The drivers forgot that their front wheels were up on the ballast. Should have tipped their forks back (and pulled out the side rails on the car). DOH!

Gale warning in effect

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Now this should be an interesting day - from weather.com:

Gale Warning for Northern Inland Waters Including The San Juan Islands
...GALE WARNING IN EFFECT UNTIL 4 PM PDT THIS AFTERNOON... ...SMALL CRAFT ADVISORY IN EFFECT FROM 4 PM THIS AFTERNOON TO 5 AM PDT SUNDAY... THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN SEATTLE HAS ISSUED A GALE WARNING...WHICH IS IN EFFECT UNTIL 4 PM PDT THIS AFTERNOON. A SMALL CRAFT ADVISORY HAS ALSO BEEN ISSUED. THIS SMALL CRAFT ADVISORY IS IN EFFECT FROM 4 PM THIS AFTERNOON TO 5 AM PDT SUNDAY. THE GALE WATCH IS NO LONGER IN EFFECT. * WIND AND WAVES...NORTHEAST 25 TO 35 KNOTS THROUGH THIS AFTERNOON. WIND WAVES 4 TO 6 FEET. WINDS BECOMING 15 TO 25 KNOTS SATURDAY NIGHT. PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS... A GALE WARNING MEANS WINDS OF 34 TO 47 KNOTS ARE IMMINENT OR OCCURRING. OPERATING A VESSEL IN GALE CONDITIONS REQUIRES EXPERIENCE AND PROPERLY EQUIPPED VESSELS. IT IS HIGHLY RECOMMENDED THAT MARINERS WITHOUT THE PROPER EXPERIENCE SEEK SAFE HARBOR PRIOR TO THE ONSET OF GALE CONDITIONS. A SMALL CRAFT ADVISORY MEANS THAT WIND SPEEDS OF 21 TO 33 KNOTS ARE EXPECTED TO PRODUCE HAZARDOUS WAVE CONDITIONS TO SMALL CRAFT. INEXPERIENCED MARINERS, ESPECIALLY THOSE OPERATING SMALLER VESSELS SHOULD AVOID NAVIGATING IN THESE CONDITIONS. &&

Zero sign of this as yet but the weather can change on a dime here. Planning to spend this afternoon at a heavily treed orchard so will keep an eye out.

No word as to the provenance but...

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She certainly got her wish: Tip 'o the hat to Gerard.

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A letter of no small insignificance

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I knew something like this could come out - from Independent Journal Review:

Senate Democrats Face Questions After Letter Resurfaces of Them Asking Ukraine to Investigate Trump in 2018
The Democratic senators who sent a letter to the Ukranian prosecutor general asking them to investigate President Donald Trump are facing some questions.

Last May, three Democratic senators — Senators Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.), Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), and Bob Menendez (D-N.J.) — sent a letter to Ukranian Prosecutor General Yuriy Lutsenko expressing their “great concern about reports” that his office had taken steps to inhibit former Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s probe into Russian election interference.

The group of senators wrote that Ukraine “has made significant progress” in their process of building up their “accountable democratic institutions” in spite of the geopolitical pressure from Russia.

“We have supported that capacity-building process and are disappointed that some in Kyiv appear to have cast aside these principles in order to avoid the ire of President Trump,” continued the senators. “If these reports are true, we strongly encourage you to reverse course and halt any efforts to impede cooperation with this important investigation.”

The whole Russian collusion fiasco is paying some wonderful dividends - it started out as a nothingburger and continues to be a nothingburger. There is no collusion - never was. The Democrats do not have policy, they do not have leadership. All they have is the media and bullying. They have to cheat to get their people elected. Pathetic really. The sooner they clean their own house, the sooner they can become a great party again. Worthy of respect and not derision.

As things get interesting - Fauxcahontas

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As sleepy Joe and his corrupt son disappear into the sunset, Senator Elizabeth Warren is coming up in the polls as the 2020 Presidential candidate. Problem is, she is going after the monied-class a little bit too hard. From CNBC:

Wall Street Democratic donors warn the party: We’ll sit out, or back Trump, if you nominate Elizabeth Warren
Democratic donors on Wall Street and in big business are preparing to sit out the presidential campaign fundraising cycle — or even back President Donald Trump — if Sen. Elizabeth Warren wins the party’s nomination.

In recent weeks, CNBC spoke to several high-dollar Democratic donors and fundraisers in the business community and found that this opinion was becoming widely shared as Warren, an outspoken critic of big banks and corporations, gains momentum against Joe Biden in the 2020 race.

“You’re in a box because you’re a Democrat and you’re thinking, ‘I want to help the party, but she’s going to hurt me, so I’m going to help President Trump,’” said a senior private equity executive, who spoke on condition of anonymity in fear of retribution by party leaders. The executive said this Wednesday, a day after Speaker Nancy Pelosi announced that the House would begin a formal impeachment inquiry into Trump.

Heh - Rock? Meet Hard Place...

Two weeks in - a big thumbs up

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Earlier this month, I posted about the AmazonBasics Keyboard getting a good review. I ordered two of them and have been using them on my two main computers for the last couple of weeks. I have been generally very happy with the AmazonBasics line of products - they are my go-to for cables and I have some of the CD Drives. Really solid quality and inexpensive prices.

The keyboard is solid and has a nice feel to it. The stroke length is not as long as I like but then, I learned to type on an IBM Selectric typewriter so these are the (very high) standard by which I judge. I still think that the $45 Walmart gaming keyboard is better and there are some elite keyboards out there costing a couple hundred bucks but overall, the Amazon keyboard is a great unit. I am going back to my gaming keyboard on the media machine but keeping the amazon keyboard for my other computer. The other keyboard I bought will be put on my eBay machine downstairs.

Here is the link to the keyboard: AmazonBasics Wired Keyboard

The WalMart gaming keyboard: SteelSeries Apex 150 Gaming Keyboard, Black

Ho. Li. Crap - amazing microphotography

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New technique - downright amazing. From Dorsa Amir:

This is so beyond what we had when I was studying biology or working in the field and I was exposed to some pretty high-end equipment.

A really well-written message - go and read the whole thing.

A Message for Children About Climate Change
Dear Children,

I’m sorry adults have frightened you about climate change and how it might affect your future. You might be less afraid if you knew some facts that adults intentionally do not explain to you. I’ll tell you here.

The news was once a source of real information, or so we thought. But in the modern world, the news people discovered they can make more money by presenting scary news regardless of whether it is true or not. Today, much of the news on the right and the left is opinion that is meant to scare you, not inform you, because scary things get more attention, and that makes the news business more profitable. The same is true for people who write books; authors often make books scary so you will buy them. Most adults know all the scariness is not real. Most kids do not. You just learned it.

Good basic facts - well worth reading for everyone.

An interesting treaty

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Signed in November 10th, 1999 by William Jefferson Clinton. Available for reading here:

TREATY BETWEEN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA AND UKRAINE ON MUTUAL LEGAL ASSISTANCE IN  CRIMINAL MATTERS WITH ANNEX, SIGNED AT KIEV ON JULY 22, 1998, AND WITH AN EXCHANGE OF NOTES SIGNED ON SEPTEMBER 30, 1999, WHICH PROVIDES FOR ITS PROVISIONAL APPLICATION

From DC Whispers:

DOH! Did You Know There’s a Treaty Between the USA & Ukraine Regarding Cooperation For Prosecuting Crimes?
My goodness. It was passed when Joe Biden was a member of the U.S. Senate and then signed by then-President Bill Clinton.

A comprehensive treaty agreement that allows cooperation between both the United States and Ukraine in the investigation and prosecution of crimes.

It appears President Trump was following the law to the letter when it comes to unearthing the long-standing corruption that has swirled in Ukraine and allegedly involves powerful Democrats like Joe Biden and others.

Time to use it and get to the bottom of the Biden corruption.

Fisking Greta's United Nations speech

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Great line-by-line fisking of Greta Thunberg's rant to the UN - from Watts Up With That:

A Line-By-Line Response to Greta Thunberg’s UN Speech
Note: Greta’s speech is reprinted below. Her quotes are in italic, mine follow each quote. If it turns out there were errors in transcription—as seems likely—I’ll try to update with corrections. I apologize for the snarky tone, but if a 17-year-old can dish it out, I think she can take it.

“My message is that we’ll be watching you. This is all wrong, I shouldn’t be up here, I should be back in school on the other side of the ocean.”

So in your first paragraph you confess that what you’re doing is wrong, and you shouldn’t be doing it. You note you should be back home and in school. OK, so far we’re 100% in agreement. Next?

“Yet, you all come to us young people for hope, how dare you?”

Not sure where you’re getting your information. No sentient adult goes to young people “for hope,” whether they’ve been “dared” to or otherwise. Normally, when adults consider young people like yourself, the operative word is “despair.” And if you’re unfamiliar with that word, it means “absence of hope.”

“You have stolen my dreams and my childhood with your empty words…”

Wow, you must have had very fragile dreams, and an even more precarious childhood, if mere empty words could steal them. Even words loaded with meaning shouldn’t be able to take down someone’s dreams that easily, if the dreams are even a little bit deeply held. But empty words? Greta, you need to find better dreams and cling to them with more determination. As for your stolen childhood, this makes me suspect you didn’t exactly win the lottery when it comes to parents, did you? Just sayin’.

“…and yet I’m one of the lucky ones. People are suffering, people are dying. Entire ecosystems are collapsing.”

OK, sounds like someone’s been playing too much of the computer video game Civilization. Yes, in Sid Meier’s Civilization VI people are suffering, people are dying, and entire ecosystems are collapsing. Meanwhile back in reality, none of that is occurring. Well, none of it that is caused by human emissions of carbon dioxide at least. Greta, try to spend a few hours each day actually off your computer, so you can experience the world as it really is, not as your scary online world, and your handlers, are convincing you it must be.

Much more at the site. Fisking? From so-called journalist Robert Fisk - the Walter Duranty of our age.

47 genders? No - two bell curves. Simple.

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From Maggie's Farm:

20190926-gender.jpg

The most accurate explanations are almost always the simplest.

Heh - about that whistleblower

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The latest Orange Man Bad scam comes to us from the New York Times and the CIA. From Hot Air:

Good Grief! NY Times Reveals Whistleblower Is CIA And Readers Are Furious
The NY Times is reporting the whistleblower who made the complaint about Trump’s call with Ukraine is a CIA agent who was on a detail to the White House:

The whistle-blower who revealed that President Trump sought foreign help for his re-election and that the White House sought to cover it up is a C.I.A. officer who was detailed to work at the White House at one point, according to three people familiar with his identity.

The man has since returned to the C.I.A., the people said. Little else is known about him. His complaint made public Thursday suggested he was an analyst by training and made clear he was steeped in details of American foreign policy toward Europe, demonstrating a sophisticated understanding of Ukrainian politics and at least some knowledge of the law.

The next section of the Times’ story is devoted to the back and forth over whether or not the Times should have published this information in the first place. The whistleblower’s attorney is not amused, telling the Times, “Any decision to report any perceived identifying information of the whistle-blower is deeply concerning and reckless, as it can place the individual in harm’s way.”

And the article lists a few of the comments:

    • “I am stunned the paper would choose to do this. You just gave anyone who might choose to come forward to report a serious governmental wrongdoing ample reason to triple guess that choice.”
    • “No, NYT – don’t go there. Do not identify or help identify the WB”
    • “You, New York Times, have given enough detail for any amateur sleuth to find him. Would it hurt to wait a few weeks before releasing information that may imperil this American hero?”
    • “It is irresponsible of you to so specifically identify the whistleblower. I am disappointed in your editorial decision.”
    • “I understand the need to wanting to know more and complete information. But good grief, a person’s life could be on the line.”
    • “Why are you trying to out this patriot, instead of investigating the crimes of the president? Unbelievable.”
    • “Your actions are irresponsible.”
    • “What in the world are you thinking?”
    • “DO NOT OUT THIS HERO!”
    • “Great article. All that’s missing is where his kids go to school.”
    • “Reading this story makes me regret having cancelled my subscription. I’d like to be able to cancel it again.”

The Times actually did their job for once and revealed that the Fake News originated from the Deep State. No wonder the apparatchiks are up in arms.

Running seriously low on popcorn. This is fun.

This looks like a lot of fun - Hypno

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$600 so I think I will pass but now that this unit is out, others will follow. Based on a RaspberryPi so should be cheap to clone. Want HDMI outputs anyway. Available at Sleepy Circuits. More on the design and programming here.

So true - talking about tools

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The climate tool Greta Thunberg is being manipulated by adults to be a voice for the children. When she is no longer useful to them, she will be dropped and forgotten. Dustbin of history. Happened so many times before.

Philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche summed it up perfectly:

"A politician divides mankind into two classes: tools and enemies."
--Friedrich Nietzsche

Up to the farm for the day

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Such a nice day that I did the first dump run, got a coffee and headed North to the farm for a half-day.

Got some tools and some more of the music stuff down. Still no water. There is power to the well-house so it looks like either the controller or the pump itself. Hoping it is the controller. They are about $45 and the pumps (good ones) are around $700.

Back to the island and will do the second dump run tomorrow - supposed to be raining a bit. Clouded over this early evening.

Down in the dumps

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Heading out for two dump runs this morning - feels wonderful to chuck bags of unwanted (and unusable) crap off into a big pit. Old papers, junk, etc... No value to them - the good stuff has already been donated to the local thrift shop or will be listed on eBay.

Back in a couple hours - want to pick up the living room a bit and vacuum the fireplace. Get it ready for the first cold.

About that whistleblower

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Aaaand here it comes - cold

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From Cliff Mass:

Arctic Express Coming to the Northwest
If you live in western Washington, you might want to check that your heating system still works.

If you live in eastern Washington on the slopes of the Cascades, you might want to make sure you have a snow shovel.

If you live in western Montana, you might want to get your chains ready and stock up on food.

An unusually early and intense Arctic express will hit the region this weekend. And our days of Blob warmth will be over for a while.

Let me start by showing you a stunning image from the NOAA/NWS Climate Prediction Center (CPC)--their 6-10 day forecast for temperature. Specifically, it gives the probabilities of below normal (blue) and above normal (red) temperatures.

Wow--- my colleagues in NOAA are quite sure that below-normal temperature will reign along the entire West Coast as well as the northern Plains States.

20190926-forecast.png

Forecast to hit Friday. Glad I have a cord of wood laid in. Nice and seasoned.

Heh - George and Hillary in one photo:

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20190926-hillary.jpg

MSNBC - Fake News

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They cut away from President Trump's press conference as he began to talk about uncomfortable things. From The Hill:

MSNBC cuts from Trump speech: 'We hate to do this, really, but the president isn't telling the truth'
MSNBC cut from President Trump’s press conference on Wednesday, claiming the president was repeating lies about his political rival Joe Biden as a “deflection” from the impeachment inquiry.

“We hate to do this, really, but the president isn’t telling the truth,” MSNBC host Nicole Wallace said as the network cut from Trump’s speech.

“These allegations against Joe Biden and Hunter Biden that he’s repeating have been investigated by the Ukrainians. ... The Wall Street Journal included in their report on Friday that the Ukrainians view this issue as having been investigated and adjudicated,” Wallace said.

The problem that MSNBC was having is that President Trump was telling the truth and the truth happened to be at odds with MSNBC's narrative. MSNBC's job is to report and to let US determine what is true and what is a pack of lies.

Glad that they did this as the more blatant their pursuit of the prog narrative is, the more people will see them for who they are - a militant arm of the progressive liberal party.

36 years ago today

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Stanislav Petrov should be a household hero. From The Washington Post:

I Had A Funny Feeling in My Gut
It was just past midnight as Stanislav Petrov settled into the commander's chair inside the secret bunker at Serpukhov-15, the installation where the Soviet Union monitored its early-warning satellites over the United States.

Then the alarms went off. On the panel in front him was a red pulsating button. One word flashed: "Start."

It was Sept. 26, 1983, and Petrov was playing a principal role in one of the most harrowing incidents of the nuclear age, a false alarm signaling a U.S. missile attack.

Although virtually unknown to the West at the time, the false alarm at the closed military facility south of Moscow came during one of the most tense periods of the Cold War. And the episode resonates today because Russia's early-warning system has fewer than half the satellites it did back then, raising the specter of more such dangerous incidents.

As Petrov described it in an interview, one of the Soviet satellites sent a signal to the bunker that a nuclear missile attack was underway. The warning system's computer, weighing the signal against static, concluded that a missile had been launched from a base in the United States.

Petrov decided that this was a false alarm and did not push the button. The cause?

According to Petrov and other sources, the false alarm was eventually traced to the satellite, which picked up the sun's reflection off the tops of clouds and mistook it for a missile launch. The computer program that was supposed to filter out such information was rewritten.

Shades of Dr. Strangelove...

An early winter?

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Modern cold period? Right on schedule - from The Bellingham Herald:

With this forecast, WSDOT is ‘getting ready for winter across the board‘
If you haven’t had your fill of the North Cascades high country this season, it might be too late.

Weekend snow could close the final stretch of Mount Baker Highway to Artist Point, a popular tourist vista and the trailhead for several mountain hikes.

Andrea Petrich, spokeswoman for the Washington state Department of Transportation, said the forecast might mean an early winter closure.

This is about a month early - Wow!  Last year, the road closed on October 28th.

Now, there is this from Seattle meteorologist Cliff Mass:

Major Snow Event in Montana and Alberta, With Light Snow in Our Mountains
Getting some light snow in September over the higher elevations of the Northwest is quite normal, but what is about to happen over western Montana and southwestern Alberta, will be unusual--with several feet falling at some locations on the eastern side of the Rockies during the next week.

And here in western Washington we will get a taste of much cooler temperatures and a dusting over our high terrain.

And the reason? Our sun - from Spaceweather:

A SUMMER WITHOUT SUNSPOTS
Could northern summer 2019 go down in history as "the summer without sunspots"? From June 21st until Sept 22nd, the sun was blank more than 89% of the time. During the entire season only 6 tiny sunspots briefly appeared, often fading so quickly that readers would complain to Spaceweather.com, "you've labeled a sunspot that doesn't exist!" (No, it just disappeared.) Not a single significant solar flare was detected during this period of extreme quiet.

This is a sign that Solar Minimum is underway and probably near its deepest point. For 2019 overall (January through September), the sun has been blank 72% of the time, comparable to annual averages during the century-class Solar Minimum of 2008 (73%) and 2009 (71%). The current Solar Minimum appears to be century-class as well, meaning you have to go back to the beginning of the 20th century to find lulls in solar activity this deep.

Contrary to the sound of it, "Solar Minimum" is not boring. During this phase of the solar cycle, the sun's magnetic field weakens, allowing cosmic rays to enter the solar system. This doses astronauts and possibly air travelers with extra radiation. The sun also dims, especially at extreme ultraviolet wavelengths, causing the upper atmosphere to cool and collapse. Space junk accumulates in Earth orbit as a result. Finally, streams of solar wind punch through the sun's weakening magnetic field, lashing Earth with gaseous material that can cause geomagnetic storms. (One such stream is due later this week on Sept. 27-28.)

Sunspots are an excellent proxy for solar output. The more sunspots, the more active our sun is and the hotter things get on Earth. We are coming out from under a period of very high solar activity (starting around 1914, really getting going in the 1950's through about 2000) and things are cooling off substantially. This is known as the Modern Maximum and has fuck-all to do with atmospheric Carbon Dioxide levels and all to do with solar activity.

What we are heading towards is very similar to other periods in recorded history - the Maunder Minimum, Dalton Minimum and the Spörer Minimum. Frost fairs anyone?

Dump run tomorrow

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On a roll - got the van filled and more bags sitting in the living room ready for trip #2. Do two runs tomorrow morning after coffee &c.

Had a large lunch so heading out in a little bit for a burrito and two pints.

Tempest in a teapot

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Told you it was a nothingburger - from The Washington Times:

Justice Department clears Trump of wrongdoing on Ukraine call
The Justice Department’s Criminal Division has already investigated President Trump’s conversation with the Ukrainian president about Joseph R. Biden and concluded Mr. Trump did not violate campaign finance laws, officials announced Wednesday.

And a separate division of the department has also ruled that the administration did not break the law by failing to quickly share a whistleblower’s complaint with Congress, saying the matter didn’t meet the definition of “urgent” that would trigger the law.

The department also released the transcript of Mr. Trump’s conversation with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, showing the American leader did talk about Mr. Biden, the former vice president and current Democratic presidential front-runner, and his son, Hunter Biden. But Mr. Trump did not threaten to withhold military aid as some have alleged.

Look - I get it. Trump Derangement Syndrome is a real thing and a lot of people believe that the orange man is bad. Still, how about everyone just drinking a nice cup of shut-the-fuck-up and get back to work running this nation.

Very cool - robots

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Boston Dynamics is doing some really great work - here is the latest from Atlas:

And somwhere, Skynet is smiling.

Magic Glue

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Heh - from The Argyle Sweater:

20190925-glue.jpg

From BuzzFeed News:

Teenage Girls Are Leading The Climate Movement — And Getting Attacked For It
On the morning of August 25, 11-year-old Lilly Platt tweeted a video clip of a Brazilian Amazon tribe speaking out against deforestation. Awareness of the Amazon wildfires was already at a fever pitch, and the tweet exploded. Then, within an hour, a swarm of troll accounts started flooding her mentions with porn.

Shortly after the attack, her mom, Eleanor Platt, made an online plea for help: “Dear Friends of Lilly, this is Lillys mum she is being targeted by revolting trolls who are spamming her feed with pornography. There is only so much i can do to block this. Please if you see these posts report them.” Over the course of the day, some of Lilly’s nearly 10,000 followers did - just - that.

Young girls like Lilly, who has been striking in her hometown of Utrecht, Netherlands, every Friday for the last year, are overwhelmingly leading a growing global movement to draw attention to the climate crisis. They spurred an estimated 4 million people across seven continents to walk out of work and school on September 20 — and they are getting attacked for it. They have faced a barrage of daily insults, seemingly coordinated attacks (like the one that targeted Lilly), creepy DMs, doxing, hacked accounts, and death threats. This is the new normal for young climate leaders online, according to BuzzFeed News interviews with nearly a dozen of the kids and their parents.

It is good that people are pushing back. Using these children is basically child abuse. They are being raised in a culture of fear and false science. They are impressionable and are being fed the worst kind of propaganda. They are being told that there is only 10-15 years left for this planet. Child abuse.

This is nothing but a repeat of the Children's Crusade of 1212. Not familiar with this? Here, here and here for starters.

Dump run

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Sorting through stuff here and getting a lot tossed out. Got the work van loaded up with cardboard boxes for recycling and bags of trash - paperwork, etc... A bunch of yard waste too. Stopping by the storage unit on the way back to load up with more stuff to sort. It is not never-ending but sure seems like that at times.

Greta - a bit of history

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Climate tool Greta Thunberg needs to study her history. She is a tool of someone else - nothing more, nothing less:

20190925-biglie.jpg

The cost of doing business in California

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Just got really expensive - trucking. From San Jose, CA's The Mercury News:

Smog checks required for big trucks, under new law signed by Newsom
In a move aimed at reducing air pollution, Gov. Gavin Newsom on Friday signed a law that for the first time will require most large trucks in California, including 18-wheel tractor trailers, to pass a regular smog check.

Already, cars and passenger vehicles that are six years old or older are required to pass a smog check every two years. But large trucks, a major source of diesel soot and other air pollution, have not been required to pass inspection.

On Friday, Newsom signed Senate Bill 210, which requires the California Air Resources Board to set up a pilot program over the next two years and after that put rules in place for truck smog checks.

“Just as car owners have to get their own personal cars smog checked every two years, so too should truck operators be required to maintain their emissions controls so that we can ensure long-lasting air quality improvements,” said State Sen. Connie Leyva, D-Chino, who wrote the bill.

Sure, modern diesel engines are clean but older engines are not. This will drive the smaller older trucking companies out of business and will increase the cost of trucking by quite a bit. The transportation costs are factored into the sale price of everything from newsprint to groceries. It all gets delivered by truck. Prices are going to rise all over. Stupid law.

Unreal - true communism except for the name. From The Washington Free Beacon:

Yang: Climate Change May Require Elimination of Car Ownership
Democratic presidential candidate Andrew Yang said the United States may have to eliminate private car ownership to combat climate change during MSNBC's climate forum at Georgetown University Thursday morning.

He told MSNBC host Ali Velshi that "we might not own our own cars" by 2050 to wean the United States economy off of fossil fuels, describing private car ownership as "really inefficient and bad for the environment." Privately owned cars would be replaced by a "constant roving fleet of electric cars."

A constant roving fleet of electric cars owned by the State and which tracks your every move. Try to visit a gun show and see what happens. You get driven to the local re-education camp for a few weeks of "evaluation" (ie: hard labor).

Tip of the hat to Kim DuToit for the link.

Unintended consequences - clean water

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Looks like cleaning up New York City's harbor has a downside. From the New York Times:

The Critters Doing $114 Million in Damage to Brooklyn’s Piers
No signs, fences or entreaties can keep these vandals away from the sprawling waterfront park at the foot of the Brooklyn Bridge.

They relentlessly attack the timber pilings that hold up the pristine lawns, basketball and handball courts, soccer and lacrosse fields, and roller skating rink, and threaten the future of an 85-acre park that has become a showcase for New York’s waterfront redevelopment.

They are marine borers — so named because they leave behind wood riddled with holes.

Along with oysters and other marine life, these pests have come roaring back to New York Harbor, threatening almost anything in the water made of wood.

They are the beneficiaries of more than four decades of federally mandated efforts to clean up the industrial pollutants and raw sewage that had turned the harbor into a marine wasteland.

Marine borers are a big problem for wooden boats - you need to use a toxic paint on your bottom and renew it every other year. Big expense. Here is what one of the pilings looks like:

20190925-borer.jpg

A cross section of a wood pile that has been the victim of marine borers
that feast on wood. CreditCreditGabriela Bhaskar for The New York Times

Clean water is great - something to be strived for but, as with anything, there are consequences.

Releasing the transcript - President Trump

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Turns out that the Ukraine telephone call was a big nothingburger. The Democrats have nothing. From Breitbart:

Donald Trump Taunts Impeachment Democrats: ‘Got Them by Surprise’ with Transcript Release
President Donald Trump previewed the release of a transcript of his phone call with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Wednesday, questioning whether Democrats would “apologize” for launching an impeachment inquiry into the situation.

“Will the Democrats apologize after seeing what was said on the call with the Ukrainian President?” he asked on Twitter. “They should, a perfect call – got them by surprise!”

The president released the transcript shortly after his message on Twitter, which revealed that Trump spoke to Zelensky about the investigation of meddling in the 2016 election and former Vice President Joe Biden and his son Hunter Biden’s possible corrupt behavior in the country.

Below is the relevant portion of the transcript

Trump: … I just want to let you know that’s the other thing, There’s a lot of talk about Biden’s son, that Biden stopped the prosecution and a lot of people want to find out about that so whatever you can do with the Attorney General would be great. Biden went around bragging that he stopped the prosecution so if you can look into it … It sounds horrible to me.

President Zelensky: I wanted to tell you about the prosecutor. First of all, I understand and I’m knowledgeable about the situation. Since we have won the absolute majority in our Parliament; the next prosecutor general will be 100% my person, my candidate, who will be approved, by the parliament and will start as a new prosecutor in September. He or she will look into the situation, specifically to the company that you mentioned in this issue. The issue of the investigation of the case is actually the issue of making sure to restore the honesty so we will take care of that and will work on the investigation of the case.

As for the call for impeachment - here is the most recent from NBC News:

Representative Lewis has been calling for impeachment for over two years. This is not breaking news.
From The Hill - December 6th, 2017:

The nearly 60 Dems who voted for impeachment
An unexpectedly high number of Democrats voted in favor of an effort to launch impeachment proceedings against President Trump on Wednesday, revealing the growing agitation among liberals to remove him from office.

The House voted overwhelmingly 364-58 to table a resolution from Rep. Al Green (D-Texas) laying out articles of impeachment against Trump, with four Democrats voting “present.”

All Republicans voted with 126 Democrats to defeat the resolution. Those Democrats included Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (Calif.) and Minority Whip Steny Hoyer (Md.), who announced ahead of the vote they would vote to table the effort.

They had nothing then, they have nothing now. Time for them to move on with their lives and get back to doing their jobs representing their constituents. Stop throwing schoolyard tantrums. They should be ashamed.

Forty-four health hoaxes debunked

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Great canonical list at Vice:

The Most Overhyped Wellness Promises, Debunked
Raise your hand if you have a friend who’s tried one of the following in the name of wellness: apple cider vinegargluten-free foodcolonics, or detoxing? How about the friend who avoids microwaves and antiperspirant to protect themselves from “radiation” and “toxins,” respectively? Or the one who swears that the crystals in their bedroom are responsible for all the positive changes they’ve made recently? Yeah, that one. Those ones. This list is for them. And for you, to share with them when you’re at a loss for words.

Behold our ever-growing list of today’s most pervasive wellness lies. Click through on each one for a clear, deeply researched, as-definitive-as-possible explanation, gathered from experts and years of scientific research. You won’t find any thin claims based on small studies or experiments on cells or mice, unless we’re using them to point out how insufficient the research is on a given subject.

In some of these cases, the body of research continues to develop. There may be a time when, say, there’s a probiotic on the market that is proven to improve your mood. But until that time arrives, it’s worth saving your time and money and keeping an eye on the research. Here, in no particular order, we’re setting the record straight on the the most overhyped health and wellness promises out there today.

People believe the strangest things...

Well crap - RIP Robert Hunter

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From Rolling Stone:

Robert Hunter, Grateful Dead Collaborator and Lyricist, Dead at 78
Robert Hunter, the poet and writer who provided the Grateful Dead with many of their vivid and enduring lyrics, died Monday night. He was 78. No cause of death was provided.

“It is with great sadness we confirm our beloved Robert passed away yesterday night,” Hunter’s family announced in a statement. “He died peacefully at home in his bed, surrounded by love. His wife Maureen was by his side holding his hand. For his fans that have loved and supported him all these years, take comfort in knowing that his words are all around us, and in that way his is never truly gone. In this time of grief please celebrate him the way you all know how, by being together and listening to the music. Let there be songs to fill the air.”

You can read his lyrics at dead.net - a poet.

Blowing up in their faces - impeachment

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The Democrat clown car is going to get a lot more fun. It looks like they are actually going to try to impeach President Trump. There ain't enough popcorn in the world for a fustercluck of this magnitude - from the New York Post:

Pelosi’s impeachment flip-flop changes everything
For months, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi warned itchy Democrats against the perils of impeachment. She should have stuck to her guns.

In surrendering to the radicals and the noisy drumbeat of their media handmaidens, Pelosi established a formal investigative process involving the top legislative committees.

Yet she did something else, too, something far more monumental: She effectively committed House Dems to impeaching President Trump.

Because of what she said and did, if the House doesn’t go all the way, it will be a political disaster. Either failing to take a vote on articles of impeachment, or failing to get enough votes among her majority to pass any articles, would be seen as a political exoneration for Trump, likely leading to his re-election.

If all that weren’t risky enough, consider another scenario. If House Dems do impeach Trump on grounds that much of the public sees as flimsy and concocted, they could win the battle and lose the war. Indeed, no matter what the House does, there is a next-to-zero chance the GOP controlled Senate would convict the president absent clear and convincing “high crimes and misdemeanors.”

Heh - they are still unable to get over the 2016 election results. They have not moved on. Sad in a way. This country really needs unified leadership and not a bunch of hysterical crackpots promoting socialism and government control.

Blowing up in their faces - Greta

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An interesting take on the 16-year old eco-loonie. From CNBC:

How 16-year-old Greta Thunberg’s rise could backfire on environmentalists
Sixteen-year-old Greta Thunberg from Sweden is the new face of the environmentalist movement, thanks to a pair of impassioned speeches to the U.S. Congress and the United Nations.

But while personalizing a movement, especially with the innocent face of a child, is usually PR gold, Greta’s ascendancy to the forefront of environmental activism could end up being a major negative to the movement – and the environment.

Just how inspiring or even persuasive you find Greta’s speeches and overall activism likely depends on where you stand on the political spectrum. There are plenty of politicians and regular voters claiming to be inspired by her words and passion. There are also lots of observers expressing general alarm at what they see as an indoctrinated child being coerced by adults to make their political arguments with her youth as a shield from any criticism.

Heh - bring it on suckers...  The environmentalists have nothing. They have only rhetoric and hysteria. The actual recorded data tell a completely different story - we are entering a cooling period.

Long day

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Quick run to Bellingham, farmer's market and then some Thai food for dinner.

The beers were nice and cold and wet. Time to surf for a bit.

Troll level - EPIC

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President Trump knocks it out of the park:

Another Democrat shithole - Philadelphia

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Grew up in Pittsburgh and been there a few times. The Mütter Museum is a must if you are into medical curiosities.

Two clickable headlines:

From the first link:

Former Sheriff John Green, who starts a five-year stint behind bars on Monday, was convicted of taking $675,000 in bribes and kickbacks in office.

“We owe it to him,” Bilal said in a Facebook post Tuesday accompanying a flier advertising the fundraiser for Green at the Guardian Civic League, the association of black police officers she has headed for more than a decade.

Owe it to him??? The moke is a convicted criminal and is corrupt. You OWE him??? Says a lot about the new sherrif.

Oh yeah. The City of Brotherly Love's last elected Republican mayor was Bernard Samuel. His term of office expired in 1952. That would be 67 years ago. Nice shithole city.

Interesting observation - President Trump

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From Atomic Fungus:

"If the mainstream media were doing its job, Rush Limbaugh wouldn't have one." He wouldn't be necessary.

"If the mainstream media were doing its job, Donald Trump would not be president." Again, he wouldn't be necessary.

It's important to remember that President Trump is not a cause but a symptom. We have President Trump because the Republican party was not doing the job its constituency elected it to do. The GOP consistently worked against the interests of its voters, always promising it would do what they want but then finding excuses not to, because what the GOP leadership wanted was not what its voters wanted. In many cases it was the exact opposite. Example: TEA Parties. Example: the repeal of ObamaCare.

I agree 100%. Had the Politicians and the Media been doing their jobs and listening to We The People, we would not have elected President Trump.

Absolutely zero desire to go there. I can smell the taint from here. From the Stamford, CT Stamford Advocate:

One in 7 adults in New Orleans has a warrant out for arrest, new data shows
It's Monday morning in the Municipal and Traffic Court of New Orleans - misdemeanor rush hour in a city that traffics more heavily than most in public drunkenness and disturbing the peace.

Fifty-two arrestees, outfitted in orange and maroon jumpsuits, await their first appearance before a judge. Most are black. All require a public defender. And more than half of them are here, their hands chained against their stomachs, because they missed a court date for a minor crime, triggering an arrest warrant.

Lauren Anderson, a public defender and attorney supervisor for Municipal Court, is furious as she looks over a list of their names. "It doesn't make any sense," she says. "We're not making the city any safer," she said. "We're only hurting these people, and we just keep doing it over and over. It's infuriating."

There are more than 56,000 outstanding warrants in New Orleans's Municipal Court, dating to 2002, according to city data. A staggering 1 of 7 adults in the country's 50th-largest city have a warrant out for their arrest.

The New Orleans police keep the tourist areas safe for the tourists. They do not have the resources to do anything else.
The last Republican mayor of New Orleans was Benjamin Franklin Flanders and his term of office expired in 1872. That is 147 years of Democrat rule. Nice shithole of a city.

What an entitled little puppet

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Talk about stuck on stupid - from The Daily Wire:

GRETA SNAPS: ‘We Are In The Beginning Of A Mass Extinction,’ ‘How Dare You!’
Far-left climate extremist Greta Thunberg had a meltdown while speaking at the United Nations on Monday about climate change, claiming that the state of the world is on the verge of collapse.

The Washington Examiner noted that Thunberg "has stage-parents, literally. Her mother sang opera internationally until the teenager convinced her to quit due to greenhouse gas emissions from flying, and her father and grandfather both gained fame through acting and directing."

Thunberg repeatedly condemned adults by dramatically saying, "how dare you!" as she warned of a future that she suggested may not even exist due to climate change.

She is someone's tool - shades of the Children's Crusade of 1212. I do not care how precocious she might be, a person's brain at age 16 does not have the ability to process large sets of data and come to a genuine conclusion. Their logic has not been developed. They may be a Clever Hans but they are not Albert Einstein - yet.

The fact that she is somewhere on the Autism Spectrum makes her outrage even less relevant.

Happy first day of Fall

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A cold and rainy day - just a few tenths of precip (about 0.4") but constant and in the 50's. Perfect weather for the first day of Fall. Got a cord of firewood in last November so it has been seasoning nicely over the summer. Perfect for heat this winter. 

Got some seeds in for cover crop for the lawn - converting part of that to a garden and these will choke out the grass and weeds next spring. Some veggies, some flowers for the birds and the pollinators.

I was at Costco last week and saw this display:

20190923-xmas.jpg

Noooooooooo... That is just too soon.

Get woke, go broke - Colt Firearms

Sorry to see such a venerable business whack their own pee-pee's so harshly. From ABC News:

Colt will stop manufacturing AR-15 assault rifle for consumer market
Venerable gun manufacturer Colt says it will stop producing the AR-15, among other rifles, for the consumer market in the wake of many recent mass shootings in which suspects used the weapon.

"At the end of the day, we believe it is good sense to follow consumer demand and to adjust as market dynamics change," Dennis Veilleux, president and CEO of Colt, said in a statement. "Colt has been a stout supporter of the Second Amendment for over 180 years, remains so, and will continue to provide its customers with the finest quality firearms in the world."

Colt is a privately-held corporation (actually an LLC - interesting...) so we can not track their numbers. They did file for bankruptcy in June 2015. I see this bit of pandering as a really stupid move so I am betting that Mr. Veilleux will be looking for work in 3... 2... 1...

Eugene Stoner's design is absolutely wonderful. He and John Moses Browning are in my pantheon. Superb engineering and superb craftsmanship. There are a few other people that are as just as good but these two names are legend.

The New York Post has a great track record as a scrappy newspaper reporting the actual truth. From March 15, 2018:

Inside the shady private equity firm run by Kerry and Biden’s kids
Joe Biden and John Kerry have been pillars of the Washington establishment for more than 30 years. Biden is one of the most popular politicians in our nation’s capital.

His demeanor, sense of humor, and even his friendly gaffes have allowed him to form close relationships with both Democrats and Republicans. His public image is built around his “Lunch Bucket Joe” persona. As he reminds the American people on regular occasions, he has little wealth to show for his career, despite having reached the vice presidency.

One of his closest political allies in Washington is former senator and former Secretary of State John Kerry. “Lunch Bucket Joe” he ain’t; Kerry is more patrician than earthy. But the two men became close while serving for several decades together in the US Senate. The two “often talked on matters of foreign policy,” says Jules Witcover in his Biden biography.

So their sons going into business together in June 2009 was not exactly a bolt out of the blue.

But with whom their sons cut lucrative deals while the elder two were steering the ship of state is more of a surprise.

What Hunter Biden, the son of America’s vice president, and Christopher Heinz, the stepson of the chairman of the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations (later to be secretary of state), were creating was an international private equity firm. It was anchored by the Heinz family alternative investment fund, Rosemont Capital. The new firm would be populated by political loyalists and positioned to strike profitable deals overseas with foreign governments and officials with whom the US government was negotiating.

Much more at the site. The last I heard, Pay to Play for foreign interests is bordering on illegal. Not quite a violation of the Logan Act but pretty damn close in my book. Washington, D. C. - come for the power, stay for the scumbags.

As voiced almost 200 years ago:

"A politician thinks of the next election; a statesman thinks of the next generation."
--James Freeman Clarke

Out for a bit - errands and meeting

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Meeting with some people today plus running a thumb-drive to a member of a group I belong to. Coffee first.

Always coffee first...

Quite the collection - Roadside America

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A large collection of photographs from our Library of Congress:

John Margolies Roadside America Photograph Archive
The John Margolies Roadside America Photograph Archive is one of the most comprehensive documentary studies of vernacular commercial structures along main streets, byways, and highways throughout the United States in the twentieth century. Photographed over a span of forty years (1969-2008) by architectural critic and curator John Margolies (1940-2016), the collection consists of 11,710 color slides (35mm film transparencies). Frequent subjects include restaurants, gas stations, movie theaters, motels, signage, miniature golf courses, and beach and mountain vacation resorts. Approximately half of the slides show sites in California, Florida, Michigan, New Jersey, New York, South Carolina, and Texas, but all 48 contiguous states are represented.The Library of Congress began to acquire portions of the archive in 2007, with the bulk of the materials arriving in 2015. These holdings form the core of what Margolies considered the exemplary images of his subject matter.

Trip down memory lane...

About that global warming

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From Seattle meteorologist Cliff Mass:

Early Cold and Snow Heading for the Region
Would you like to see some snowflakes this week? Anyone living in Washington State will be able to do so with a short drive, as unseasonally cold air will be moving in.

In fact, if this was November or December I would be warning the Mayor to get the snowplows ready....but not in September. Seriously, the large scale atmospheric configuration is a dead ringer for the one that provides lowland snow.

Tell me again that story about how everyone thought it was going to get really warm...

Say it ain't so Joe - Biden

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Looks like the Biden family is being exposed for the corrupt money-grabbers that they are.
New York City Mayor Rudi Giuliani has been busy on twitter:

Hillary's State Department was just the tip of the iceberg. The New York Post was on this four months ago:

The troubling reason why Biden is so soft on China
Why is Joe Biden so warm toward China?

Last week, Biden raised eyebrows when he shrugged off concerns over the China threat. “Come on, man,” Biden said. “I mean, you know, they’re not bad folks, folks. But guess what, they’re not competition for us.”

Perhaps Biden’s insouciant attitude toward the Chinese government has to do with the fact that his family does not consider them competitors but business partners.

In 2013, then-Vice President Joe Biden and his son Hunter Biden flew aboard Air Force Two to China. Less than two weeks later, Hunter Biden’s firm inked a $1 billion private equity deal with a subsidiary of the Chinese government’s Bank of China. The deal was later expanded to $1.5 billion. In short, the Chinese government funded a business that it co-owned along with the son of a sitting vice president.

He needs to be investigated and to spend some serious time in jail - both Joe and Hunter. Teach the others a lesson.

Just wonderful - Ebola

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Looks like it is not being contained and is spreading. From the World Health Organization:

Cases of Undiagnosed Febrile Illness – United Republic of Tanzania
The following is a description of the current situation in the United Republic of Tanzania regarding unofficial reports of a number of cases of illness and a summary of WHO efforts to obtain information about this situation.

As specified in Article 9 of the International Health Regulations (IHR), WHO may take into account reports from sources other than notifications from Member States and shall assess these reports according to established epidemiological principles under the IHR.

On 10 September 2019, through its regular event-based surveillance process, WHO was made aware of unofficial reports regarding the death of a person with suspected Ebola Virus disease (EVD) case in Dar es Salaam, United Republic of Tanzania. The identified contacts of the deceased were unofficially reported to be quarantined in various sites in the country. Under the IHR Articles 9 and 10, WHO immediately sent a verification request to the National IHR Focal Point (NFP) of the country.

They are minimizing the extent here - read between the lines. Here is another press release from two weeks ago:

WHO deploys technical team to Tanzania to support investigation of a rumour of unknown illness
The World Health Organization (WHO) is aware of a rumour related to the death of a person due to an unknown illness in the United Republic of Tanzania. We have reached out to Ministry of Health officials for further details and have offered our support.

In line with our responsibility under the International Health Regulations, WHO regularly receives and investigates numerous rumours of public health events.

In this regard, WHO is working with national health authorities and is deploying a technical team to the United Republic of Tanzania to investigate this rumour as a matter of urgency.

WHO will be informing Member States of the outcome of this investigation through their national International Health Regulations focal points.

Their eyes are squeezed shut and they are praying that this will go away. If not that, that they are the last persons to contract this disease. This is big. They know what it is but they are afraid to report on it and its extent.

Antifa and climate activism

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A parallel:

20190922-antifa.jpg

From Atomic Fungus:

That German girl, the one we're supposed to listen to about climate change, supports antifa. Her parents certainly do.

Just remember that antifa was originally a German socialist totalitarian front. Germany was going to go socialist one way or another; it was just a toss-up whether it would fall to National Socialism, or to the communists. The anitfa goons were the communists, and they lost.

Which, if you think about it, kept the entirety of Europe from falling to communism by 1950. Without Nazi Germany and WW2--

Anyway, big surprise that a climate change puppet is also an antifa puppet.

And "climate change" is just the latest bugaboo in the eco-doomsayers' long history of trying to scare us into giving them complete control over our lives.

That is all it is - they want to overload the system and then take over with their system. Classic Cloward-Piven strategy.

Heh - the New York Post

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I like them - nice and snarky and not afraid to call a spade a spade. Mayor Bill DeBlasio called it quits for his 2020 presidential campaign and the NY Post ran a front-page obituary:

DeBlasio has been spending a lot of time on the campaign trail and not enough time doing his job and New York City has been suffering for his absence.

Bill de Blasio’s presidential campaign, May 15, 2019-Sept. 20, 2019, dead of ego-induced psychosis. Neighbors said the body had been in rigor mortis for some time.

It died doing what it loved best — being as far away from New York City as possible.

IT was surrounded in the end by friends, MSNBC hosts. It’s in a better place now — a Park Slope gym.

Whether it was in the empty churches of South Carolina, the sun-kissed empty deserts of Nevada or begging someone, anyone, to talk to de Blasio at the Iowa State Fair, the campaign always gave 100% — and always polled at 1%. “Can’t” was never part of its vocabulary. Neither was “won’t,” “please stop,” or “this is a dumb idea.”

The campaign is survived by hotel industry officials who expect favors from City Hall. And 8 million suffering New Yorkers.

In lieu of flowers, de Blasio asks for donations to his slush fund.

Brutal... I love it.

But that's raaacisssss

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Stupid humans:

20190922-racisss.jpg

Fun group of people

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Had aboout 40 people show up at the pot-luck. All the board members, all the new members and a bunch of regular members. Lots of food - my pulled pork was well recieved. People ate about three pounds of it. I cooked a bit over four pounds and there is only enough left for a few meals. Perfect. I love tacos but tacos every night for a week get pretty tiresome.

Stopped off for my usual two beers and now home for the evening. Tired - long day. Got up early so I could braise the smoked pork for six hours.

Got the food put away, the pups run around and fed and watered and now time to surf for a bit before sleep.

Yikes - out the door

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Just noticed the time. The pot-luck starts at 2:00PM - load up the car, stash the dogs and head over there.

An interesting cabbage

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I like cabbage and eat it regularly both fermented and cooked. Ran into a new type at the farmer's market this year.

Meet the Filderkraut Cabbage - from local Uprising Seeds:

(Brassica oleracea) *Ark of Taste Heirloom* Hands down our favorite cabbage. We searched for seed after first seeing it at the Slow Food “Salone del Gusto” food fair held in Torino, Italy in 2006 where its unusual conical shape and sweet flavor made a lasting impression. And I’m not talking about “egghead” conical; Filder is a cartoonish gnome hat extreme reaching sizes of a foot wide and two feet tall. Named for the region it hails from, near Stuttgart in southern Germany, it is traditionally a sauerkraut cabbage and in our opinion the very best there is. Written records of the variety date back to the 1700’s but with the mechanization of the kraut industry in the mid 20th century, it fell out of favor due to its awkward shape for mechanical processing. Having maintained a regional following, it was boarded on Germany’s Slow Food Ark of Taste, and has since then found a wider audience. A long season, fall cropper it can reach huge sizes (10+ lbs), with a single cabbage filling a 3 gallon crock for us last year. And please, it shouldn’t just be thought of as a processing cabbage. It is hands down the best tasting, sweetest cultivar we’ve tried with none of the sulfur-y pungency that mars many of the modern varieties available, and is a good medium term storage head to boot. For us, one of our most exciting new vegetable introductions of the year, strongly recommended, especially for fermenting enthusiasts.

Really delicious - I have both fermented it and used it in regular cooking and will be growing it here next year. There is even a festival you can go to in Stuttgart, Germany:

Filderkraut Cabbage Festival
A vegetable is the star of the traditional Filderkraut Festival in Leinfelden-Echterdingen: the famous pointed cabbage from the Fildern district. It has been grown here for centuries, because it only flourishes on the fertile loess-loam of the Filder plateau. This flavoursome subvariety of white cabbage is listed as an important and endangered regional species in the Slow Food Foundation's "Ark of Taste".At the Filderkraut Festival on 18th and 19th October, this delicious vegetable can be enjoyed in the form of sauerkraut, stuffed cabbage leaves or Echterdingen cabbage tart, to name but a few.

Fun stuff...Interesting in that the odd shape does not lend itself to mechanical harvesting so it has been abandoned by industrial agriculture. Wonder how many other cultivars like this are out there.

So stupid - no sense of history

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From Columbia South Carolina's The State:

30 years after Hugo tore it down, SC coast builds back in the danger zone
When Hurricane Hugo hit Georgetown County 30 years ago, the big storm pounded a barren sand spit at the south end of Litchfield Beach, chewing up dunes and eroding the oceanfront, before cutting through South Carolina on a trail of destruction.

At the time, no one said much about Hugo’s impact on the narrow spit because not much was there.

Then in the late 1990s, construction workers arrived on the property, building the first grand home in a row of new oceanfront houses. Today, about three-dozen houses perch precariously on the sand spit, between the Atlantic Ocean on one side and a tidal creek on the other. Some are fortified by an unapproved seawall, built as protection from the rising seas.

The story of south Litchfield is a familiar one in South Carolina three decades after Hurricane Hugo ripped the state. Despite causing $7 billion worth of damage on Sept. 21-22, 1989, Hugo did little to discourage new or more intense development on many stretches of the state’s coast.

What will happen when:

If a storm like Hugo hit today, smacking the coast directly and plowing through the state to Charlotte, it would cause an economic loss of $16 billion, according the University of South Carolina’s hazards research institute. That’s mainly because of the increased population and residential development on the coast, USC researchers say.

A long and well written article citing lots of data. People fail to grasp what a disaster can be like in terms of physical and economic impact. Stuff like this will happen again, it is just a matter of time.

Out for coffee and stuff

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Wishing everyone in the shire a wonderful Hobbit Day.

From local television station KIRO:

Bartell Drugs closing downtown Seattle location over crime concerns
Local drugstore chain Bartell Drugs says it’s closing a downtown location over crime concerns.

In March, surveillance video obtained by KIRO 7 showed a group of people who wandered in from the street, knocking items over and harassing employees inside the 3rd and Union location.

On Friday, Bartell Drugs confirmed the location will shut down before the lease ends. 

Bartell Drugs' CEO Kathi Lentzsch told KIRO 7 the cost of stolen items is too high. 

Lentzsch previously told KIRO 7 Barell Drugs would not be opening any new stores in downtown Seattle due to the crime. 

“It’s a concern. I think we’re sweeping it under the rug. The city council, the mayor, the state, the judicial system, the community -- we all have to come together to figure this out,” Lentzsch said. 

KIRO has done a couple other stories about the shithole that is downtown Seattle:

Used to be a really nice city - lived there for many years.

Get woke / go broke

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This one is the other way around - great news from the Washington Examiner:

Chick-fil-A has more than doubled sales since critics called for boycott
Chick-fil-A has more than doubled its annual sales since gay rights advocates called for a boycott of the chicken chain restaurant after it was revealed nearly a decade ago that the company donated to organizations that opposed same-sex marriage.

In 2018, the company had $10.5 billion in total sales, becoming the third-largest chain in the nation behind Starbucks ($20.5 billion) and McDonald’s ($38.5 billion). It was a 16.7% increase in sales from the year prior.

An analysis credited the growth to a variety of factors, including the opening of nearly 700 more locations in recent years, low start-up costs, and digital sales via delivery apps.

There are now more than 2,400 locations nationwide, and the $10,000 in startup costs for an operator are significantly lower than the costs needed to open a McDonald’s.

The company’s growth has happened despite the calls for a boycott.

Heh - I am not gay but have no issue with those that are. My issue is that according to the 2000 census, the total gay population is just under 4% of the entire US population. It seems a lot higher but this is an artifact due to the high level of activism by a few gay people. I respect their freedom but I respect the First Amendment much much more.

House smells wonderful

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Got the pork shoulder braising in some apple cider. Makes the whole house smell wonderful.

Puttering around for a little bit and then coffee.

A wonderful evening

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About 50 people in attendence. Light supper, some singing and meditation and then a bonfire. They will be doing one more farmhouse supper as well as an apple-fest next Saturday.

One of the acquisitions we made when Jennifer and I initially purchased the farm in Maple Falls was a large second-hand apple cider press. I think it has found a new home as they are making some incredible cider blends.

They do not do alcohol so are not interested in fermenting any of it but looking to work out a deal where I get a portion of the cider for my own use. They have over 300 apple and pear trees that are about one to three years old and are just coming into production. Wonderful obscure fruits - some really old varieties.

Anyway, early bedtime for me - a bit zoned out by the meditation and the bonfire and need to get up early tomorrow. Pot luck at 1:00PM tomorrow and I brought some of their cider home to braise the smoked pork shoulder. Bringing a couple pounds of pulled pork for sliders.

Derp - Solstice Equinox

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Going to the Equinox celebration this afternoon - not Solstice.

Revisited the Historical Society today and took their walking tour of Stanwood. It was led by someone who grew up here and whose father, grandfather and great-grandfather also grew up here so she knew her history and had lots of stories to tell. There were two blacksmith shops in town as well as one machinist (much later). Going to have to do some digging - get some photos to use for promotional materials. I already know of one prominent Blacksmith on the island.

Heading out in a few minutes.

Now this is interesting - rattling sabers

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Iran rattled theirs. Now we rattle ours. From gCaptain:

U.S. Orders Large-Scale Turbo Activation Exercise of Ready Reserve Force Ships
The U.S. Department of Defense has ordered a large-scale turbo activation of ships in the U.S. Maritime Administration’s (MARAD) Ready Reserve Force fleet.

The turbo activation is part of a large-scale activation exercise ordered by the U.S. Transportation Command (USTRANSCOM) on September 16. The activation calls for a total of 28 RRF fleet vessels to transition from reduced operating status to fully crewed and full operating status within 5-days. Activations are commonly followed by immediate sea trials.

Interesting times...

Out for a bit - Solstice party

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Got a solstice party today and the pot-luck is tomorrow.

Solstice party is at the local farm I like - starts at 4:00PM so working at home today until then.

Checked the calendar and saw that the new members party is actually tomorrow - this greatly simplifies my schedule. Cooking some pulled pork for sliders for that. Since I am the VP, my attendance is required.

Out for coffee and the usual.

Suffer from what? Too much crap. From Joshua Becker at Becoming Minimalist:

21 Surprising Statistics That Reveal How Much Stuff We Actually Own
Most of us know we own too much stuff. We feel the weight and burden of our clutter. We tire of cleaning and managing and organizing. Our toy rooms are messy, our drawers don’t close, and our closets are filled from top to bottom. The evidence of clutter is all around us.

Today, data is constantly being collected about our homes, our shopping habits, and our spending. The research is confirming our observation: we own too much stuff. And it is robbing us of life.

Here are 21 surprising statistics about our clutter that help us understand how big of a problem our accumulation has actually become.

    1. There are 300,000 items in the average American home (LA Times).
    2. The average size of the American home has nearly tripled in size over the past 50 years (NPR).
    3. And still, 1 out of every 10 Americans rent offsite storage—the fastest growing segment of the commercial real estate industry over the past four decades. (New York Times Magazine).
    4. While 25% of people with two-car garages don’t have room to park cars inside them and 32% only have room for one vehicle. (U.S. Department of Energy).c
    5. The United States has upward of 50,000 storage facilities, more than five times the number of Starbucks. Currently, there is 7.3 square feet of self storage space for every man, woman and child in the nation. Thus, it is physically possible that every American could stand—all at the same time—under the total canopy of self storage roofing (SSA).

Sixteen more at the site. I am doing a major downsizing and it is hard. You get into the mind-set of accumulation and very difficult to break out. Feels wonderful though.

Sad - Trader Joe's

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Great store but they are caving to the SJW's - from the New York Post:

Trader Joe’s removes pictures of circus elephants from packaging after PETA complaint
People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) is praising Trader Joe’s after the grocery store chain redesigned some of its packaging, allegedly at the animal rights group’s urging.

In a statement to Fox News, PETA said that it contacted Trader Joe’s about its use of circus elephant images on items such as peanuts, peanut butter and toilet paper, pointing out that it was “standard practice to beat, shock, chain and whip elephants” and other animals used in circus performances.

I find it hard to believe that the circus owners would mistreat such an asset as an elephant so badly. Sadly, yes, there will always be outliers but in the main, elephants would be a much loved and valuable compliment to the circus. I think that PETA is grossly overstating their case and that Trader Joe's acceded to their demands without asking for corroborating information. Classic case of narrative and not facts.

What should Trader Joe's have done?  Mock them mercilessly. Ridicule them and make other people see how silly and impotent their manufactured outrage is.

A dose of reality

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I love this woman:

Quite the system - Oracle

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Oracle makes database software and they are good at it. They also make computers - from Serve The Home:

Oracle Shows 1060 Raspberry Pi Supercomputer at OOW
At Oracle OpenWorld 2019, tucked away in the Oracle Code One area, the company had something unique: a 1060 Raspberry Pi 3 B+ cluster it calls the Raspberry Pi Supercomputer. We had a chance to check this cluster out at the show and it was extremely cool integrating inexpensive components and even 3D printed carriers along with the network booting the Oracle Autonomous Linux distribution to create something bigger.

Oracle Raspberry Pi Supercomputer
One may be wondering why there are 1060 Raspberry Pi 3B+ nodes, not an even 1024. We were told at the show that it was based on the physical dimensions of the solution along with having spares “just in case.” We asked why a Raspberry Pi 3B+ cluster instead of virtualizing an existing Arm server. We did AoA Analysis with the Marvell ThunderX2 versus 190 Raspberry Pi 4s recently. The answer was that a big cluster is cool, and cool it is.

Very cool indeed - no benchmarks as yet but this should be a decently fast system. I love the Raspberry Pi - run several of them here for a couple of projects. Complete general purpose computer for $35 - what's not to love.

Hasta la vista, baby

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Circulation is down. Spanish circulation is even more down. From The Hill:

New York Times shuts down Spanish-language platform
The New York Times on Tuesday announced the closure of its Spanish-language platform, NYT en Español.

“As of today, we’ve discontinued NYT en Español as a separate, standalone operation. Since it launched in 2016, the site published around 10 high-quality original [stories] and translated New York Times stories…in Spanish,” a New York Times spokesperson said in a statement to The Hill.

If they actually wrote about things that us normals wanted to read, they would not be having this problem.

Classical reference in the title.

A lot longer than a couple of hours

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There is a major butt-load of history being well preserved on this little island. A lot of fun today.

Got a Solstice party at the farm tomorrow and then a pot-luck for one of my groups.

Also applied for my Island County ID card today - turned in the paperwork. They will be doing a background check. I carried a Whatcom County ID card for many years so piece of cake. You need this for doing regular emergency services and communications.

Surf for a bit and then to bed. Got a couple pounds of smoked pork shoulder thawing - braise it in apple cider to do pulled pork sliders for tomorrows pot-luck. I get this from Costco, brine it, smoke it and then cut it into half-pound chunks and freeze it. Braise for four hours and it is yummy.

Exploring this but coffee first. Farmer's Market later today. Back in a couple of hours.

Elizabeth Warren - Hillary 2.0

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Two headlines:

Elizabeth Warren Calls for Ending Electoral College

The liberals have nothing to offer so they cheat and game the system.

Elizabeth Warren Hires Lobbyist One Day After Releasing Plan Calling Lobbying ‘Legalized Bribery’

Rules are for the little people. Fscking hypocrite.

Tops - the movie

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A delightful seven minute film of tops spinning:

Filmed by Charles and Ray Eames. Soundtrack by Elmer Bernstein. From the Eames Office:

TOPS
Tops had its genesis in an earlier film produced for the Stars of Jazz television program in 1957.  The Eameses decided to make a longer, color version in 1966, which they worked on in spare moments between other projects.

The film is a celebration of the ancient art and craft of top-making and spinning.  One hundred and twenty-three tops spin to the accompaniment of a score by Elmer Bernstein.  Using close-up, live-action photography, the film shows tops, old and new, from various countries, including China, Japan, India, the United States, France, and England.

Charles’s fascination with spinning tops went back to his childhood; in this film he found a perfect vehicle for demonstrating their beauty in motion and for making visual points about the universality of tops, the physics of motion (MIT physics professor, Philip Morrison, often showed the film to students and colleagues), and the intimate relationship between toys and science.

I used to have tops when I was a kid. I loved Gyroscopes. My Dad taught at University of Pittsburgh and in the lecture hall, they had a great gyro. It was a bicycle wheel with handles fastened to the axle bolt. You would sit in a chair that could spin, rev up the wheel with a motor and then, whenever you tried to tilt the gyro, you would precess around in the chair. If I was wood turning, a bunch of tops would make great Christmas gifts.

Charles and Ray Eames where amazing polymaths. Their film Powers of Ten is a stunning visualization.

The homeless problem in Los Angeles

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Great editorial in the Los Angeles Times:

Here’s the thing about Trump and homelessness in L.A.: He’s right
It’s no secret that when President Trump rails against coastal cities for their vast homeless populations, he’s exploiting the urban-rural divide for political purposes. But less obvious, and more painful, is the fact that he’s right.

That’s right: In gleefully shaming the entertainment capital of the world (Los Angeles) and the uber-wealthy heart of the tech empire (San Francisco), Trump knows that despite our vast resources, we urban elites cannot seem to muster the compassion, courage or political will to provide housing for tens of thousand of our fellow citizens.

He knows we’ve grown quite adept at stepping over sleeping human beings on our way to enjoying artisanal small plates and $15 cocktails.

We can rage at Trump’s crude rhetoric all we like, but until we prove we’re better than that, his words will continue to hit a little too close to home.

Nice to see the confused narrowing of their beady little eyes as they realize that they do not "grok" the seriousness of the situation. That they are living in a bubble of their own making. That the rest of the world (the real part) is starting to impinge on their fantasy world.

Good meeting tonight

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Got a great contact for a kind of antenna I want to build for my ham radio setup (Magnetic Loop). He offered to help me if I had any questions. These have a very narrow range of tuning (are difficult to tune) but are small size (I have a small lot) and are incredibly efficient.

A friend of mine from a different venue was interested in amateur radio (he already did electronics) so I have been helping him study for the license test and he showed up tonight and got a warm welcome. As I left, he was still talking to a bunch of people. This is a really nice group.

A bit on the tired side so quick surf, watch a few videos and then to bed. Got stuff planned tomorrow and Saturday and a radio net on Monday this time.

Yard work today

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Yesterday and today were pretty nice. Temps are still cool but clear-ish skies and no rain. Planning on working on the yard today and tomorrow. Two more days like this in the forecast.

Meeting later tonight - amateur radio group.

Yikes - polio

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From Associated Press:

Philippines declares new polio outbreak after 19 years
Philippine health officials declared a polio outbreak in the country on Thursday, nearly two decades after the World Health Organization declared it to be free of the highly contagious and potentially deadly disease.

Health Secretary Francisco Duque III said at a news conference that authorities have confirmed at least one case of polio in a 3-year-old girl in southern Lanao del Sur province and detected the polio virus in sewage in Manila and in waterways in the southern Davao region. Those findings are enough to declare an outbreak of the crippling disease in a previously polio-free country like the Philippines, he said.

Not good - this disease is a killer and if it does not kill you, you will have issues for the rest of your life.

Vaccines are a good thing.

Unintended consequences - mosquitos

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Two stories:

First - the concept. From phys.org:

Brazil mutant mosquitoes to breed out diseases
Scientists in Brazil are preparing to release millions of factory-bred mosquitoes in an attempt to wipe out their distant cousins that carry tropical diseases. The insects' method: have sex and then die.

British firm Oxitec says its genetically modified mosquitoes will swarm in among ordinary species such as Aedes aegypti, the insect that carries feared diseases such as Zika, dengue, yellow fever and chikungunya.

They will mate with the females of the ordinary mosquitoes, spawning babies with a genetically inbuilt flaw that causes them to die quickly.

With their work done, the modified father mosquitoes will then give up the ghost themselves—as they are genetically programmed to do.

Nice idea but... From the New York Post:

Plan to kill off mosquitoes backfires, spawning mutant hybrid insects
In what sounds like the plot to a Syfy channel original movie, a plan to curb a mosquito population has backfired spectacularly, making the disease-carriers even more resilient to pest-control measures.

The plan involved genetically altering mosquitoes in Brazil so their babies would die instantly, reported Futurism.

And what actually happened?

For a time, the plan seemed to be going swimmingly. The genetically-modified mosquitoes bred with their wild counterparts, causing a dip in the wild population.

Unfortunately, the numbers came roaring back just 18 months later.

Researchers think that the wild female mosquitoes may have grown wise to the measure and began avoiding the genetically modified males, reported New Atlas.

And if that wasn’t Jurassic Park enough, the wild mosquitoes could have developed a resiliency to the measure, making their population even harder to quash. Now, the region has been left with a huge population of hybrids (combinations of the Brazilian native mosquitoes and the Cuban and Mexican breeds that were genetically altered in the lab) — an outcome that could make the entire population more resistant to the original mosquito control measures.

“The claim was that genes from the release strain would not get into the general population because offspring would die,” Yale researcher Jeffrey Powell, one of the authors of the study, told New Atlas. “That obviously was not what happened.”

Talk about unintended consequences. Time to bring back DDT. Yes, it is bad for the environment and caused problems with bird shells but at that time, we were marinating in it. Carefully used, it would greatly minimize our worst pest with little or no environmental problems.

President Obama and television

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But that's raaaacisssssss...

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Looks like Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is in a spot of hot water. From Time Magazine:

Justin Trudeau Wore Brownface at 2001 ‘Arabian Nights’ Party While He Taught at a Private School
Justin Trudeau, Canada’s prime minister, wore brownface makeup to a party at the private school where he was teaching in the spring of 2001. TIME has obtained a photograph of the incident.

And Trudeau backpedals instead of saying it was a joke and everyone needs to get over themselves.
From Associated Press

‘A dumb thing to do’: Trudeau apologizes for brownface
Canadian leader Justin Trudeau’s campaign was hit Wednesday by the publication of a yearbook photo showing him in brownface makeup at a 2001 costume party. The prime minister apologized and said “it was a dumb thing to do.”

And more:

Trudeau, who launched his reelection campaign exactly one week ago, said he should have known better.

“I’m pissed off at myself, I’m disappointed in myself,” Trudeau told reporters traveling with him on his campaign plane.

No. Prime Minister Trudeau needs to be pissed off at himself for caving to the Social Justice Warrior harpies.
You never apologize to SJWs. Vox Day knows this - after all, he wrote the books on the subject. Trudeau needs to mock them mercilessly. Ridicule them and make other people see how silly and impotent their manufactured outrage is.

Looking for this on C-Span

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Comedy gold sounds like - from Don Surber:

Lewandowski owns the Democrats
Corey Lewandowski was so bold, clear, and entertaining in his appearance before Congress that I wondered if Republicans don't have a mole on the House Judiciary Committee who arranged this hearing.

And then I realized that they do.

President Donald John Trump is the only thing on their minds. He is their first thought in the morning, and their last thought at night. The party is obsessed with him that they have become the Washington Generals to his Harlem Globetrotters. Somebody throw a bucket of confetti on them.

Once again, Democrats shopped at Acme. Once again the device they purchased backfired. Bigly.

A long post from Don but worth going there to read. He cites four big media websites and shows their reactions.
The "fake news" journalists are being handed their own front teeth on a silver salver.

To bed soon

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Ran a couple of errands. Picked up two books from the library. Had lunch here and then a burrito out for dinner.

Woke up early this morning so feeling downright sleepy. Surf for a bit and then to bed.

Time for that flu shot

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From NBC News:

This year's flu season may be a bad one. Here's why you need a flu shot
Flu seasons are notoriously unpredictable, but there are already clues that the upcoming season may be especially difficult.

Flu season in the Southern Hemisphere can be an indication of what's to come in the Northern Hemisphere, and the recent flu season in Australia, where winter has just ended, arrived early and with a vengeance. A particularly virulent flu strain, H3N2, dominated.

What's more, a pediatric flu death has already been reported in the U.S. — a 4 year old in California who had underlying health problems.

"We should never forget that the flu still kills," Dr. Cameron Kaiser, a public health officer for Riverside County, California, said in a news release announcing the death.

Cheap insurance. Not a fun illness to have.

Great news - better automobiles

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President Trump tweeted the following a few hours ago:

The increase in safety is a big deal. The automobile engine is running about as efficiently as physically possible so the only way to improve gas mileage is to reduce the weight. This makes the car a lot less safe. Here are just a couple of clickable headlines describing this:

I could go on but you get the drift. Major kudos to President Trump for axing this onerous bit of legislative control.

Chicken Little - climate catastrophe

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No, the sky is not falling. They were wrong then and they are wrong now - from the Competitive Enterprise Institute:

Wrong Again: 50 Years of Failed Eco-pocalyptic Predictions
Modern doomsayers have been predicting climate and environmental disaster since the 1960s. They continue to do so today.

None of the apocalyptic predictions with due dates as of today have come true.

What follows is a collection of notably wild predictions from notable people in government and science.

More than merely spotlighting the failed predictions, this collection shows that the makers of failed apocalyptic predictions often are individuals holding respected positions in government and science.

While such predictions have been and continue to be enthusiastically reported by a media eager for sensational headlines, the failures are typically not revisited.

Some fun reading - they have over 20 images of newspaper and magazine articles claiming that the world is coming to an end and yet, none of these catastrophes have come to pass. Makes you wonder about the green new deal that the retired bartender is trying to ram down everyone's throats.

Licking the spoon - not such a good idea

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From Barfblog:

E. coli O26 and (O121) loves flour
I used to be a lick-the-batter-off-the-spoon kind of guy. I stopped doing that a few years ago. I don’t eat raw cookie dough, or let my kids eat it. I’m probably not the most fun dad, but outbreaks recalls like what is going on right now is why.

General Mills announced today a voluntary national recall of five-pound bags of its Gold Medal Unbleached All Purpose Flour with a better if used by date of September 6, 2020. The recall is being issued for the potential presence of E. coli O26 which was discovered during sampling of the five-pound bag product. This recall is being issued out of an abundance of care as General Mills has not received any direct consumer reports of confirmed illnesses related to this product.

This recall only affects this one date code of Gold Medal Unbleached All Purpose Flour five-pound bags. All other types of Gold Medal Flour are not affected by this recall.

Guidance from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) continues to warn that consumers should refrain from consuming any raw products made with flour. E. coli O26 is killed by heat through baking, frying, sautéing or boiling products made with flour. All surfaces, hands and utensils should be properly cleaned after contact with flour or dough.

E. coli can be found in the most unusual places. Sanitation in food preperation is paramount. One of the first things I learned when doing food service back 40 years ago.

Great first paragraph - California

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Here is the first paragraph in a good article about California's push to implement rent controls. A socialist wet-dream but a market failure everywhere it has been tried. From the Foundation for Economic Education:

When you see a headline that begins with “Florida man…,” you know it’s more likely to be about some guy trying to take down a tornado with his Colt Python than it is that a resident of the Sunshine State has cracked cold fusion. In public policy circles, the words “California policymakers…” appearing in a headline are attaining a similar status.

Heh - so true. Here is the thesis of the article:

Rent controls propose using government regulation to solve the symptom — high prices — of a problem — a shortage of housing — which government regulation created in the first place.

Worth reading - excellent example of the unintended consequences of government meddling into private business.

Looking forward to this - the 3rd Annual Historic Sites Tour. Lots of events scheduled and this area is ripe with historical sites.

From reenactment group The Iron Shepherds:

Medieval Meals - Cook & Eat in the 12th Century
What's for dinner? Frumenty? Plumentum? Tardpolene? Or is it beans again? These are just four meals and treats from the middle ages.

Medieval Meals - Eat & Cook in the 12th Century, by Iron Shepherds Living History, is about everyday eating: where food came from, how it changed from the 12th Century onwards, how to cook, how to serve, when to eat and the all important medieval table manners.

With 10 recipes adapted for 21st century cooks, you'll be eating like a 12th century peasant in no time!

This 40 page A5 cookbook costs just £5.00 and all money raised by the sale of this book goes to us, the Iron Shepherds, to help fund our living history displays, events and further books like this.

As a non-profit group all the money we raise through donations and purchases is funneled straight back into the work we do, to bring history to life.

The book is sold out but they have a link to be notified. Great website.

Legalize marijuana they said

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We will tax it and make a lot of money they said. From the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation:

The Ontario government lost $42M selling cannabis in the last year
Ontario Cannabis Retail Corp. lost $42 million in the latest fiscal year, according to newly released public documents.

The provincial Crown corporation tasked with online sales and wholesale distribution of recreational pot reported revenues of $64 million for the year ended March 31, 2019.

However, Ontario's consolidated financial statements show the OCRC, which operates as the Ontario Cannabis Store, racked up expenses totalling $106 million during the period.

Canada legalized cannabis for adult use on Oct. 17 last year, and the rollout was mired by supply chain issues and product shortages, which largely have been resolved in recent months.

Trust big government to take a successful (albeit illegal) private market, nationalize it and lose money.

Quite the fire in Australia

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Bad news for beef ranchers down under - from the Australian Broadcasting Commission:

Genetics laboratory fire in Yarram destroys 100 cryogenic cylinders containing cattle semen
An overnight fire has destroyed 100 valuable cryogenic cylinders containing cattle semen at a genetics laboratory and storage facility at Yarram in south-east Victoria.

The fire in Rodgers Street started about 3:00am and took 10 fire crews more than two hours to contain.

More - from the Fire Commander:

"The liquid inside the cylinders was rapidly expanding and essentially the lids of the cryogenic cylinders were just popping off the top and projectiles were being thrown from the building," he said.

These are dewars containing liquid nitrogen. Not flammable but N2 expands 696 times when it moves from liquid state to gaseous. Builds up a lot of pressure.

The value:

"The actual cylinders are worth between $500 and $1,000 per unit but the semen inside them varies in price," he said.

"We're coming into the AI season so there would have been substantial amounts of semen inside the tanks that we've lost, which was owned by our local farmers, and it can range in value from $5 per straw to $95 per straw.

With each dewar holding maybe 100 straws. Value lost plus the farmers are going to be scrambling to get more for this spring's insemination. It is early spring down there.

Up and at 'em

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Woke up about an hour earlier than usual. Working at home today so putter around for a couple hours and head out for coffee and some errands.

Meetings Thursday, Friday and Saturday so spending the week down here.

A look at modern times

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Things are actually really good:

The most recent Brett Kavanaugh kerfuffle

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Excellent post from Noah Rothman at Commentary Magazine:

Brett Kavanaugh Breaks the Democrats
Rarely does a story implode as spectacularly as the New York Times’ latest effort to resurrect the claim that Justice Brett Kavanaugh was a teenage sexual predator.

By now, you know the facts: The Times published an excerpt from a forthcoming book alleging that another woman suffered the same form of abuse and objectification from Kavanaugh that was alleged by another accuser, Deborah Ramirez. No sooner had the universe of liberal political observers and politicians worked themselves up into a frenzy than the story fell apart. The woman whose uncorroborated experience supposedly substantiated Ramirez’s uncorroborated assertions wasn’t even the one making these accusations. Rather, they came from a Washington D.C. attorney with conflicts of interest who did not contact the Senate Judiciary Committee during Kavanaugh’s confirmation proceedings. What’s more, she doesn’t even remember the experience that was supposedly so traumatizing—a revelation that was inexplicably omitted from the Times’ original draft.

The resurrection of the controversy involving Kavanaugh’s conduct as a teenager has done the New York Times no favors. Nor has it been a boon to Democrats, who have lost control of the narrative and are turning on one another in a failing bid to restore some semblance of competency.

Rothman closes his post with this:

It’s a testament to the impenetrability of the bubble in which they operate that Kavanaugh’s harshest critics don’t seem to recognize how badly this is going for them.

And I hope that they never realize this - they are their own worst enemies. Pure schadenfreude.

News from Wisconsin - from the Madison, WI NBC affiliate:

Wisconsin vineyards hurting after cold, wet spring
September is harvest time for Wisconsin vineyards, but several saw much smaller crop yields this year, or even none at all.

Owners said the weather in 2019 is the problem, especially the bitterly cold winter and a wet spring.

Peter Botham, co-owner and winemaker at Botham's Vineyards and Winery in Barneveld, is one grape grower who struggled this season.

How bad are things:

However, in 2019, for the first time in 27 years, Botham is not harvesting at all.

"For growing grapes, it could not have been worse this summer," he said.

The cold winter burned the buds for the grapes, and the wet spring and summer made it hard for grapes to ripen. Botham's vineyard saw so little fruit that he did not think he could harvest.

"You'd see a lot of purple right now and all you see right now is green," he said.

The article also mentions a second winery that suffered a 60% crop loss. We are entering a time of increased cold.

Facts and data, not narrative.

The guy is an idiot - John Kerry

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Thank God he never was elected President - the guy is an idiot. From The Hill:

Trump: 'Iran is being given very bad advice by John Kerry'
President Trump on Monday took aim at former Secretary of State John Kerry after his administration announced it would crack down on Iran’s oil exports.

The president suggested that Kerry, who has met with Iranian leaders over the Obama-era nuclear deal that Trump scrapped, broke an obscure law banning private citizens from negotiating with foreign governments without permission from the U.S.

“Iran is being given VERY BAD advice by @JohnKerry and people who helped him lead the U.S. into the very bad Iran Nuclear Deal. Big violation of Logan Act?” Trump tweeted.

22K comments - the usual mix of TDS and attaboy

Capitalism versus socialism/communism

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Adam Smith always had a way with words:


"It is not from the benevolence of the butcher, the brewer, or the baker that we expect our dinner, but from their regard to their own interest."
--Adam Smith

Out for a little bit

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Last night's meeting was a board meeting (they made me the VP of the organization) so I have some emails to follow through on today. Heading out for coffee and then working at home. Need to make some more nectar for the hummingbird feeders - about half-way through my second 25 pound bag of sugar this year.

Farmer's market later this afternoon but it is supposed to be dumping rain so we will see...

Trade wars work

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From Yahoo/Reuters:

China's slowdown deepens; industrial output growth falls to 17-1/2 year low
The slowdown in China's economy deepened in August, with growth in industrial production at its weakest 17-1/2 years amid spreading pain from a trade war with the United States and softening domestic demand.

Retail sales and investment gauges worsened too, data released on Monday showed, reinforcing views that China is likely to cut some key interest rates this week for the first time in over three years to prevent a sharper slump in activity.

Despite a slew of growth-boosting measures since last year, the world's second-largest economy has yet to stabilise, and analysts say Beijing needs to roll out more stimulus to ward off a sharper slowdown.

All Beijing has to do is normalize their currency and stop the unfair trade practices. Things will rapidly get back to normal. That is all...

The Democratic debate

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From Stilton Jarlsberg - with apologies to The King's Speech:

20190917-debate.jpg

Some interesting news from Mexico

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Pushed far enough, people will take things into their own hands - from American Thinker:

Mexicans are starting to turn on their cartels...
Most Americans have a soft spot for posses that take up the critical dangerous threats to the locals that the state won't bother about. We like people who take risks in the name of "protecting the people." We tell discontents abroad to pick up a rifle.

In cartel-infested Mexico, whose current presidential administration and last presidential administration both made a point of not bothering the cartels much, spontaneous self-defense forces fighting the cartels are suddenly appearing, with the rise of "kill the killers" vigilante groups. No doubt about it, a Mexican public sick of the cartels has created an opening.

A new Daily Beast story opened with this:

First he trained and worked as an assassin for Mexico's most powerful crime group; now he uses that training to "clean up" cartel infestations.

And according to the Yucatán Times:

A new study by Mexico's National Human Rights Commission suggests vigilante activity is up by more than 300 percent since the start of 2018, and blames the increase on "insecurity, violence, and impunity."

Much more at the site. These people are showing a lot of courage by going up against such an organised criminal and government element. We talk about the rampant corruption in our government. We are lucky.

An explosion in a lab. Not just any lab. From Russia Today:

Blast & fire hits major virus lab in Russia, where HIV, Ebola & anthrax strains are stored
One of the world’s largest virus research centers, located in Siberia, was reportedly engulfed in flames after a sudden explosion rocked the secretive compound, known for its stores of Ebola, HIV, anthrax and other strains.

Firefighters and rescue services were scrambled on Monday to respond to a fire that broke out in Koltsovo, a scientific hub several kilometers from Novosibirsk. The situation was quickly upgraded from an ordinary emergency to a major incident as the explosion and fire affected Russia’s research center of virology and biotechnology, often referred to as the Vector Institute.

The laboratory is known for having developed vaccines for Ebola and hepatitis, as well as for studying epidemics and genera issues surrounding immunology. During the Cold War, it was thought to be part of now-defunct Soviet biological weapons program, meaning that some of the most dangerous strains – including that of smallpox, Ebola, anthrax and certain plagues – are still being kept inside the Institute’s building.

With that in mind, a local branch of the Emergencies Ministry swiftly responded to the call, sending in 13 fire engines and 38 firefighters, who entered the six-story building minutes after arrival.

Yikes - brave first responders. The Vector Institute is well known in the west now - lots of nasty stuff there.

There is another story at a Russian site but Google Translate no longer accepts URLs to translate a website - it only handles blocks of 5,000 characters at a time. Sad that Google is no longer offering this service as it was really helpful.

Russian news site here.  The Vector Lab home page here.

Punch back twice as hard

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The liberal media has gotten away with sliming political figures for too long. Some of them are punching back.
From National Public Radio:

Virginia Lt. Gov. Justin Fairfax Files $400 Million Lawsuit Against CBS
Attorneys for Virginia's Democratic lieutenant governor, Justin Fairfax, filed a $400 million defamation lawsuit against CBS on Thursday, accusing the network of amplifying sexual assault claims that Fairfax says are "false, defamatory and politically-motivated."

The lawsuit centers on CBS This Morning's airing of two interviews with Meredith Watson and Vanessa Tyson, who in February accused Fairfax of separate incidents of sexual assault.

Fairfax's attorneys allege the network didn't fully vet the accusers' claims and omitted information that would exonerate him. The suit repeats Fairfax's claims that the women "unambiguously" expressed their consent. The suit also alleges that a CBS lawyer who knew Fairfax from college knew the encounter with Watson was consensual because he was told about it by an eyewitness.

CBS was pandering to the #METOO crowd and overstepped the bounds of reality. Time for them to get a strong reminder to do their fscking job and not pander to the progressive narrative.

And back again

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Noce drive through some gorgeous farmland. Impressive clouds - we have a large front moving in. Gale winds and lots of rain in the forecast for tomorrow.

Picked up a nice crusty baguette at Costco today so having some of that with the last of the Minnestrone soup. Planning to make it with bacon next time around. Walmart didn't have what I wanted so ordered it from them online.

Running a load of laundry and finishing off some filing - meeting at 7PM.

Heading out in a little bit

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Paid some bills so drop them off at the post office. Coffee and library as well. Doing a run up to Costco for some food and fill up the car. Food co-op too. Walmart as well.

Was raining pretty hard when I woke up but stopped and clearing a little bit.

Stormy weather - Gale warnings

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Looks like we are in for a spot of weather - from the National Weather Service:

...GALE WATCH REMAINS IN EFFECT FROM LATE TONIGHT THROUGH TUESDAY AFTERNOON...
* WIND...Possibly rising to 25 to 35 kt after midnight tonight into Tuesday morning.

A Gale Watch is issued when the risk of gale force winds of 34 to 47 knots has significantly increased, but the specific timing and/or location is still uncertain. It is intended to provide additional lead time for mariners who may wish to consider altering their plans.

Timing is everything - Brett Kavanaugh

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Yesterday's hit piece by the New York Times gave me an idea - I wonder how Ruth Bader Ginsburg's health is these days. She is not in good medical condition and if she is going to die soon, this would be exactly what the liberals would be doing to muddy the waters.

She could have retired while Obama was still president but didn't - major tactical error.

Yikes - high rainfall

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It hasn't rained very much here but in the Cascades?

Here is the current flow of the Stillaguamish river near Arlington, WA:

20190915-stilly.png

Somebody got dumped on. That is a lot of water - over ten times the daily average.

Youtube and then to sleep

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Nothing much on the internet tonight.

A bit of fact checking - Brett Kavanaugh

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Seems like the accuser is a Clinton tool. From PJ Media:

Latest Kavanaugh Accuser Was Hillary's Lawyer in Clinton Impeachment
On Saturday, The New York Times ran a story repeating allegations that Brett Kavanaugh was drunk at a party in college and had his genitals thrust into a woman's face. The allegation has not been confirmed, and friends of the alleged victim say she has no recollection of the events. The man telling the story, Max Stier, represented Bill and Hillary Clinton in the 1990s when Bill Clinton was accused of exposing himself to a woman in a hotel room.

Stier's story appears in the forthcoming book The Education of Brett Kavanaugh: An Investigation by Robin Pogrebin and Kate Kelly. "A classmate, Max Stier, saw Mr. Kavanaugh with his pants down at a different drunken dorm party, where friends pushed his penis into the hand of a female student," the authors wrote in a New York Times article teasing the book.

Interestingly, the alleged victim is not quoted in the article, and neither are any corroborating witnesses. In fact, The Federalist's Mollie Hemingway reported that "the book notes, quietly, that the woman Max Stier named as having been supposedly victimized by Kavanaugh and friends denies any memory of the alleged event."

The words Fake News come to mind.

Decades of liberal rule - Chicago

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The bill is about to come due and Chicago does not have the money. From PJ Media:

Will Chicago Be the Largest U.S. City to Declare Bankruptcy?
The city of Chicago is in dire fiscal and financial straits with an almost billion dollar budget deficit, bonds rated at junk status or below, numerous extremely costly legal judgments, a shrinking tax base, and unfunded public pension liabilities to the tune of an astonishing $42 billion.

Other than that, it's a great place to live.

The state of Illinois has its own financial troubles, so the city can expect little or no help there. And good luck getting a federal bailout through the GOP Senate and signed by a president who's been called a "racist" by the mayor.

The shrinking tax base is clear proof that citizens are already over taxed. And since it's Democrats in charge, there won't be much cutting of city services.

The only option for Mayor Lori Lightfoot and the city council is restructuring the city's massive debts. In other words: bankruptcy.

More (including links to the numbers) at the site. The author offers this:

From my 40-year observations of the Chicago political scene, I have my doubts whether Mayor Lightfoot could do what needs to be done. The powers that be are just too entrenched. It's not only politicians, it's bloodsucking businessmen, organized crime, and now street gangs who also get a cut of the action. This is the way the "City that works" has worked for more than 90 years.

Since the days of Big Bill Thompson, Chicago has been a cesspool of graft and corruption. Can waving the magic wand of bankruptcy cure the city of almost 100 years of amoral governance?

Big Bill Thompson was Chicago's last Republican mayor and was totally corrupt. Since then, it has been an 88 year slide into financial ruin and corruption under democratic rule.

The soup and salad were good

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The two pints of beer were also good - ran into some people from the organization so we chatted for a little bit.
Board meeting tomorrow evening.

Fall is definitely in the air - been listening to a lot of Loreena McKennitt today. I am a lowland Scott so what can I say - Celtic is in my blood. This one is singularly beautiful and powerful:

Lyrics here: Breaking Of The Sword

A bit of background at Reddit  Be sure to hit the VIEW ENTIRE DISCUSSION button to see the full story.

Seems that she is not a fan of "social media" either - from the Toronto Star:

Loreena McKennitt: Why I’m leaving Facebook
I remember as a rambunctious red-headed tomboy running around the house with my playmates and my mother admonishing me, “Don’t run so fast, you’ll break something!” And sure enough, sometimes we did.

Now, decades later, those words come flooding back as I reflect on the defining motto of Silicon Valley, “move fast and break things.” In particular, I think of Facebook.

In response to the recent revelations of its misuse of personal data, I’ve decided to leave the platform and encourage my half-million-plus followers to instead keep in touch through my website. I’m told this is a path of professional suicide, especially as I’m about to release a new recording.

Times have certainly changed in the music business since I started out busking in the 1980s. Some would argue we were the first industry to be broken.

Much more at the site - some very thoughtful observations.

From our President:

Be sure to visit the above link - there are some good comments to President Trump's tweet.

Earth-shattering KaBoom? Marvin the Martian of course:

An interesting survey - the media

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Exactly what I have been thinking - us normals are fed up with the mainstream media.
From San Francisco PR Company Bospar:

Bospar Study: Nearly All Americans Are Troubled by the Current State of the Media
SAN FRANCISCO – SEPTEMBER 9, 2019 – Bospar, the boutique PR firm that puts tech companies on the map, has released the results of its Ethics in Media survey. The new data comes as Bospar hosts its Ethics in Media panel with the San Francisco Chapter of the Public Relations Society of America and the San Francisco Press Club on Sept. 19 at 6 p.m. The event will take place at Werqwise on 149 New Montgomery St. in San Francisco.

ABC Veteran anchor Cheryl Jennings will moderate the discussion. Panelists include former Wall Street Journal reporter and Message Lab CEO Ben Worthen and former KRON Executive Producer and Bospar Principal Curtis Sparrer.

Bospar and Propeller Insights surveyed 1,010 American adults and discovered that more than 95% are troubled by the current state of media. The reasons for their concern include the following:

    1. Reports on fake news – 53%
    2. Reporting gossip – 49%
    3. Lying spokespeople – 48%
    4. Celebrity opinions – 36%
    5. Left-wing agendas – 34%
    6. Gotcha journalism – 33%
    7. Right-wing agendas – 32%
    8. Puff pieces in exchange for access to other important interviews – 31%
    9. Blind items being reported in the news – 30%
    10. Hit pieces – 21%
    11. Rise of independent contributors versus on-staff media – 14%

And an overwhelming majority (67%) believe ethics in journalism will be worse during the 2020 presidential campaign. When asked about the impact unethical journalism has on the country, Americans cited four chief problems:

    • 64%: It creates division and partisanship
    • 63%: It fuels inaccuracies
    • 60%: It incites hate
    • 57%: It creates fear

Heh - could have told you that a long time ago. The media pushes the liberal narrative and not the truth.

Nothing new... Remember Rathergate?

The Killian documents controversy (also referred to as Memogate or Rathergate) involved six purported documents critical of U.S. President George W. Bush's service in the Air National Guard in 1972–73. Four of these documents were presented as authentic in a 60 Minutes broadcast aired by CBS on September 8, 2004, less than two months before the 2004 Presidential Election, but it was later found that CBS had failed to authenticate the documents. Subsequently, several typewriter and typography experts concluded the documents were blatant forgeries, as have most media sources. No forensic document examiners or typography experts have authenticated the documents, and this may not be technically possible without the original documents. The purveyor of the documents, Lt. Col. Bill Burkett, claims to have burned the originals after faxing copies to CBS.

Typewriters that produced true proportional output were hellishly expensive back in the 1970's and no Air National Guard office would have one ($120K in today's money). The supposed memo was visually identical to the same memo typed out on a computer using Microsoft Word with the default settings. Dan Rather pushed and pushed and pushed the story as it was before President Bush's election. Fake News.

Printer online

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Got my shipping label printer working just fine now - it needed cleaning after sitting for a couple of years. The cleaning pads arrived from Amazon today.

Cold and raining outside - 54°F and about an inch of precip over yesterday and today.

Time for a quick surf before dinner - cooking some minnestrone soup with TVP. Got the fixings for a salad at Friday's farmer's market.

An "art" theft

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Interesting - from The Beeb:

Gold toilet stolen in Blenheim Palace burglary
An 18-carat solid gold toilet has been stolen in a burglary overnight at Blenheim Palace.

A gang broke into the Oxfordshire palace at about 04:50 BST and stole the artwork, Thames Valley Police said.

The working toilet - entitled America, which visitors had been invited to use - has not been found but a 66-year-old man has been arrested.

The burglary caused "significant damage and flooding" because the toilet was plumbed into the building, police said.

It was part of an exhibition by Italian conceptual artist Maurizio Cattelan that opened on Thursday.

The 18th Century stately home is a World Heritage Site and the birthplace of Sir Winston Churchill. It is currently closed while investigations continue.

I hope they retrieve it before it is melted down for scrap. Fun piece. Not my taste in art but still, a fun cultural prank.

Last week's deluge was just a foreshadowing. From Cliff Mass:

Two Strong Fronts will Bring Unusual Amounts of September Rainfall
If the model forecasts are correct, this is going to be one of the wettest Septembers in recent memory. And it is clear: wildfire season is over.

The first act starts tonight as a strong front moves in this evening. The coastal radar is being overhauled--so I can't show you an ominous radar view. But the latest infrared satellite image is impressive--particularly for September.

And the quantity?

Now...are you ready to be meteorologically shocked?  Here is the accumulated precipitation total through 5 PM Tuesday.  Amazing.  Big areas of 2-5 inches.  Lots of rain in eastern Washington.

Lot's more at his site - satellite photos and forecasts. Wet.

We need this. July and August were drier than usual so we can use the replenished groundwater. Also glad that the burn-ban is over. I have been cleaning up a lot of downed trees and limbs in preperation for getting the farm listed this spring. Got quite the burn pile going - time for a bonfire.

Quiet day tomorrow

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Working here tomorrow - got a board meeting on Monday. Planning to head to the farm for a few days this week. Radio meeting on Thursday so back down but I need to get the well problems figured out before it gets really cold. Also ready to move some more of the music equipment down. 

The Fire and Rescue open house was a lot of fun. The prep and the CERT people were there - I talked to some people about amateur radio and got some interest. Met the new Fire Chief. Recognized a couple of the fire fighters from my Tuesday radio nets. About 50 general public showed up while I was there (two hours).

Ran into a new program that is incredible: Camano EMI

You get a sticker and a cardboard tube with baggie with a sheet of paper.

20190914-EMI.jpg

Put the sticker on or near your front door and fill out the sheet of paper with your medical information, emergency contact info, medical history, preferred Doctor, etc... Stick this into the baggie and the tube and put it in your refrigerator. If you need to call 9-1-1, the responders will see the sticker and know to look in your 'fridge for the tube with your information. Bonehead in its simplicity but pure genius in the design.

This is a well managed community.

Farm dinner tonight

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Yummy as always - here was the menu:

  • Hot and spiced Apple and Pear Cider
  • Roasted Tomato Soup with heirloom tomatoes and herbs
  • Farmhouse sourdough bread grilled with cheese and Zabergou apples
  • Mixed greens with Asian pears and hazelnuts
  • Rosemary Focaccia with lemon sorrel pesto, oven roasted garlic and herb infused olive oil
  • Roasted garden vegetables - squash, scarlet runner beans, purple peacock beans, tomatoes, carrots, golden cauliflower and pearl onions
  • Corn on the cob (from a local farm)
  • Mashed potatoes with cashew gravy
  • Baked Pear Crisp with apple butter, walnut rosemary shortbread and goat milk marscapone.

Incredible food and delightful people. We are seated at tables of six or eight and the conversations are wide-ranging and very intellegent. A lot of professionals retired to the island and are fascinating to talk with.

The grains for the bread were not grown on the farm but nearly everything else was.

Out the door

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Heading out to the Camano Island Fire and Rescue’s 4th Annual Fall Safety Celebration/Open House Event. The local preparedness group is hosting a tent as well as the local CERT team. Bringing a radio for show and tell for anyone interested. Last year it was a lot of fun.

Farm dinner later this afternoon - should be yummy.

Coffee first - expecting some cleaning pads for a printer I want to use. It had been sitting for three years and need to get it up and running again. Shipping labels for some eBay sales.

Great news from The Daily Wire:

Trump Confirms Osama Bin Laden’s Son Is Dead
President Donald Trump announced on Saturday that Hamza bin Laden, son of Osama bin Laden, had been killed.

"Hamza bin Ladin, the high-ranking al-Qa'ida member and son of Usama bin Ladin, was killed in a United States counter-terrorism operation in the Afghanistan/Pakistan region,” Trump said in a statement.

“The loss of Hamza bin Ladin not only deprives al-Qa'ida of important leadership skills and the symbolic connection to his father, but undermines important operational activities of the group,” the statement continued. “Hamza bin Ladin was responsible for planning and dealing with various terrorist groups."

Great news for today. The only good terrorist is a dead terrorist. I remember the wonderful surprise waiting the 9/11 murderers as chronicled by The Onion (Seriously, go and read. Multiple drink alert.)

Staying classy - Portland

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Looks like Portland, OR is devolving into a liberal shithole. From FOX News:

Portland Thorns fans boo US Armed Forces enlistees after they pledged to obey president's orders
Fans at a National Women’s Soccer League game rained down boos during a U.S. Armed Forces swearing-in ceremony Wednesday after the enlistees were asked to pledge they would obey the orders of President Trump.

The ceremony took place at Providence Park in Portland, Ore., while the Portland Thorns were facing the North Carolina Courage. The event was scheduled ahead of the 2019 season when the club discovered it would be playing on Sept. 11, according to The Oregonian.

The crowd applauded the group after it took the Oath of Enlistment but booed when the enlistees were asked to “obey the orders of the President of the United States.”

There was a little bit of karma:

The Thorns lost the match, 6-0.

What a bunch of self-absorbed  NPCs. These men and women were being inducted into the US Armed Forces. They were committing their lives to serving this nation and, by proxy, ensuring the freedom of everyone in the stadium. If you do not like who the president is, I get it. Orange Man Bad. But still, STFU and let these wonderful people have some respect for the commitment they are making.

Move over 99.96% - meet 99.995%

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Vantablack just met its match - from Science Alert:

Engineers Just Unveiled a New Blackest-Ever Material, Even Darker Than Vantablack
You might think you already know black – even super-black Vantablack, previously the blackest material known to science – but researchers just came up with a material that takes black to a new level of blackness.

The new, as-yet-unnamed ultra-black material is made from vertically aligned carbon nanotubes (CNTs), microscopic carbon strings that are a little like a fuzzy forest of tiny trees, according to the team behind the project.

And here's the rub – this CNT material can absorb more than 99.995 percent of incoming light, beating the 99.96 percent that Vantablack is able to absorb.

"In other words, it reflected 10 times less light than all other superblack materials, including Vantablack," explains an MIT release.

Like some of the best scientific discoveries, this record-setting black stuff was discovered by accident.

More at the site. Lots of uses in optics and spy cameras.

An interesting look at life

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You can find it everywhere. From the Beeb:

The desert soil that could save lives
Staring out across the desolate landscape of Valle de la Luna, the idea seems counter-intuitive.

What could the world’s driest desert, home to some of the most extreme levels of ultraviolet radiation on Earth, have to do with fighting disease? But as Michael Goodfellow, a microbiologist at Newcastle University, explains, the Atacama Desert’s inhospitality is exactly what could make it useful to us.

“The premise was that since the conditions are so harsh in the Atacama Desert, organisms become adapted to those conditions,” he says. Goodfellow hoped that if bacteria had managed to survive in such a hostile environment, they would likely produce novel chemical structures which could have important medical applications.

In 2008, he was handed a soil sample taken from the desert’s hyper-arid core, parts of which are thought to have experienced virtually no rainfall for millions of years and were once considered beyond the dry limit for life. “Quite frankly, we didn’t expect to isolate anything,” Goodfellow admits. But to his surprise, he was able to grow a diverse population of bacteria from the sample, sparking a decade of research into the desert’s microbial fauna.

The Atacama is in the public eye as it is the site of the Large Millimeter Array and the Cosmology telescopes. Fascinating place - would have loved to visit there.

Seriously? For fsck's sake - Middle East

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If it was not for their oil reserves, these nations would be nothing. From Zero Hedge:

Oil To Hit $100? Half Of Saudi Oil Output Shut After Drone Strikes Cripple World's Largest Oil Processing Facility
Update: The WSJ is out with an update hinting at just how much the price of oil is set to soar when trading reopens late on Sunday after the Saudi Houthi false-flag drone attack on the largest Saudi oil processing plant:

Saudi Arabia is shutting down about half of its oil output after apparently coordinated drone strikes hit Saudi production facilities, people familiar with the matter said, in what Yemen’s Houthi rebels described as one of their largest-ever attacks inside the kingdom.

The production shutdown amounts to a loss of about five million barrels a day, the people said, roughly 5% of the world’s daily production of crude oil. The kingdom produces 9.8 million barrels a day.

And while Aramco is assuring it can restore output quickly, in case it can't the world is looking at a production shortfall of as much as 150MM barrels monthly, which - all else equal - could send oil soaring into the triple digits. Just what the Aramco IPO ordered.

And a bit more:

Fires burned into the morning daylight hours, with explosions also reported at the Khurais oil field, in what the Houthis said was a successful attack involving ten drones. "These attacks are our right, and we warn the Saudis that our targets will keep expanding," a rebel military spokesman said on Houthi-operated Al Masirah TV.

Glad to hear that President Trump is opening up ANWR to drilling. Now if we would just go forward with nuclear, things would be wonderful and we could kiss that 9th century culture goodbye.

And YouTube

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That's all for tonight

Fauxcahontis - a bit of history

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Not what she is wanting to promote. From Breitbart:

Elizabeth Warren a Direct Descendant of Militia ‘Indian Fighter’ Who Fought Seminole Tribe
Sen. Elizabeth Warren’s (D-MA) great-great-great grandfather Jonathan Crawford served in Major William Lauderdale’s Battalion of Tennessee Volunteer Militia from November 1837 to May 1838, a six month time period during which it fought two battles in Florida against the Seminoles.

Today, there are two federally recognized Native American Seminole tribes, the Seminole Tribe of Florida, which has 4,000 enrolled members, and the Seminole Nation of Oklahoma, which has more than 18,000 enrolled members.

Lauderdale’s battalion fought against the Seminoles at the Battle of Loxahatchee River, in present-day Jupiter, Florida, on January 24, 1838. Then on March 22, 1838, they fought against the Seminoles again at the Battle of Pine Island, in present-day Fort Lauderdale.

A native of Virginia, Lauderdale moved to Tennessee, where he was known as the latest in a long line of Indian fighters, as the Daily Press reported in 1992

Much more at the site. As Al Gore would say, an inconvenient truth.

As I said in my last post, the internet is forever. Something published in 1992 is just as true and important now as it was almost 30 years ago. Warren is Big Chief Walking Eagle. Too full of shit to be able to fly.

Fake news - PolitiFact

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Much loved "independent" "debunking" site proves itself to be just another purveyor of the progressive narrative.
From The Washington Times:

Ted Cruz reminds PolitiFact of prior 'False' ruling on 'Beto wants to take our guns' claim
Sen. Ted Cruz isn’t about to let PolitiFact forget an old “false” ruling in the wake of Beto O’Rourke’s gun control comments Thursday evening.

The Texas Republican reminded the nonprofit group that it rated his claim that Mr. O’Rourke wanted to “take” guns as “false” in March 2018.

“We saw no language authorizing or directing officials to take existing guns,” Politifact wrote at the time.

The Democrat, then vying for the Senate seat held by Mr. Cruz, told the nonprofit that his “intent is for AR-15s not to be sold to the public.”

That changed during this week’s Democratic primary debate hosted by ABC and Univision.

“Hell, yes, we’re going to take your AR-15, your AK-47,” he said when asked about his endgame regarding gun control laws. “We’re not going to allow it to be used against our fellow Americans anymore.”

Silly humans, the internet is forever. We remember.

Well that was fun - Friday the 13th

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Was working at home and the internet went out on me. Tried calling their 1-800 number (actually, 1-866) and was told that there would be a wait of more than 20 minutes. Some companies let you key in your telephone number and they will call you back but not WAVE!

They have a physical office in town so after running some errands and visiting the farmer's market, I swung by there only to find that my monthly automated bill payment had been wiped out because they changed their bookkeeping system last spring and that I was five months overdue on my bill. I did not see any statements in the mail to me. Hell of a way to run a company. Their service is otherwise good and nice and fast so not really complaining but still...

Oh yeah - the initial person who set me up fat-fingered my telephone number so it took the poor clerk today about five minutes to locate my account. Looks like their new system was sold by the lowest bidder.

Dinner was good (carne asada) and beers were nice and cold - back home for the duration.

Camano Island Fire and Rescue is hosting an open house tomorrow morning. Attending that as a CERT member.
Got a farm dinner tomorrow evening.

Also, fun bit of astronomy geekdom. Tonight is the full moon (Harvest Moon). Last full moon on a Friday the 13th was in 2006 and the next one will be in 2049.

Nothing this morning

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Surfing around the web and do not see anything that catches my eye.

The big Dem debate seems to have been just a bunch of posturing. Nothing substantive, just handing out free shit in exchange for votes. Business as usual.

Farmers market today and a couple of events tomorrow. Do a bit of yard sailing. Coffee first.

Finished sorting yesterday's laundry - need to make some more nectar for the hummingbird feeders. Pups are bumbling around - they need to go out.

Good meeting tonight

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Island meetings tend to be really well run. This is a local CERT group and we are planning a live drill sometime in October so doing some preliminary planning. The training materials offered by FEMA just keep getting better and better.

I love that amateur radio is now welcomed by the fire, police and rescue forces. Because of the FEMA materials, we are trained using the same organization as they use so if we are the first people to an event, they can take over seamlessly and integrate us into their chain of command.

Ten years ago, it was: "thank you but we will take it from here". Now it is: "thank you; keep doing what you are doing, we will dispatch our officers to work with your various teams and take over from there. You radio guys keep handling the local traffic while we take over the state channels." We work together as a team. Some really great people.

Also interesting is the wide range of ages - one girl was a high school student, some people in their 30's and 40's and some older retired farts like me. Those that are prepared stand a much higher chance of survival. Not if. When.

Mental illness in the news - a two-fer

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Nothing else explains it fully. First, from Russia Today:

‘Bigoted trash!’ Transgender coffee shop employee fired for kicking out conservative customer
A coffee shop in Nebraska has fired a transgender employee after she began “yelling profanities” at a regular customer over their conservative and “bigoted” political beliefs.

The customer, Marilyn Synek, 23, who works for the Nebraska Family Alliance, said the employee asked her to leave the Cultiva Espresso & Crepes premises and warned that she would be “denied service” if she ever returned, due to her conservative opinions.

“You are f**king bigoted trash, and we do not want you in our restaurant. Over 80 percent of the people who work here are queer. You are not f**king wanted in our restaurant, so get out and don’t come back!” Synek said she was told.

And from the store owner:

That, evidently, did not go over well with management, who promptly fired the employee, identified as Natalie Weiss. In a statement posted to Facebook, the coffee shop wrote that Weiss was fired “almost immediately” and an unreserved apology was made to Synek.

While we're proudly liberal personally, and believe in human rights and diversity to the fullest degree, let it be known that we would *never* condone treating a customer this way,” they said.

The coffee shop added that despite the political viewpoints of its staff and management, they are still “running a business” and try to instill professionalism in their employees, “usually successfully.”

Talk about self-centered little bitch. It demands "tolerance" for it's identity problems but is 100% intolerant of anyone espousing another viewpoint.

Today's second example - from America Online:

Vegan activist who 'rescued' 16 rabbits killed almost 100 in process, report says
A vegan activist who claimed that she was attacked by an angry mob for freeing 16 rabbits from a farm might have caused more harm than good. She has now been accused of causing the deaths of nearly six times as many baby bunnies in the process, the New York Post reports, citing Spanish newspaper La Vanguardia

Last Sunday, the woman, who goes by the name "Mythical Mia" on Instagram and is based in Barcelona, posted a video of herself, with blood on her face. 

"This is what has just happened to us, look, I’m documenting the whole thing," she says in the video, which has since been made private. "I’m covered in blood. This is what the farmers have done. They shot through our window and chased us down the motorway. Oh my God, I’m literally covered in blood."

And it's all about her. Acting without thinking. Mentally ill. Shows you what a continued state of malnutrition will do to a person. Not pretty.

Now this should be interesting - yawn

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To read about tomorrow. In excerpts. From ABC News:

Democratic debate live updates: All 10 candidates now at Houston debate hall
The 10 highest-polling candidates will appear for a single night of debate in Houston hosted by ABC News and Univision -- the smallest roster yet in the third matchup of Democratic National Committee-sanctioned primary debates, with a field that still counts 20.

I am reminded of this:

Out again - library and store

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Got #4 of the Preston & Child Pendergast series waiting for me. Finished #3 last evening so looking forward to continuing the saga. Wonderful writing and very well researched. Fifteen more in the series so got some reading to look forward to.
Meeting at 7PM tonight.

Things are quiet today - CA quakes

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For once, California is very quiet - from the USGS Earthquake map:

20190912-quake.JPG

Just one small quake today and this one was far away from the Ridgecrest storm that has been going on since early July.

Brilliant design - corner cabinet

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Remodeling my kitchen and just saw this - outstanding idea for what is usually wasted space:

20190912-corner.gif

Quote of the year - academia

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"The object of the university is to develop character — to make men. It misses its aim if it produced learned pedants, or simple artisans, or cunning sophists, or pretentious practitioners. Its purport is not so much to impart knowledge to the pupils, as whet the appetite, exhibit methods, develop powers, strengthen judgment, and invigorate the intellectual and moral forces. It should prepare for the service of society a class of students who will be wise, thoughtful, progressive guides in whatever department of work or thought they may be engaged."
--Johns Hopkins University President Daniel Coit Gilman, in 1876

Vox Day said it best:

In academia there is no difference between academia and the real world; in the real world there is.

California is sliding down the tubes. From The Sacramento Bee:

Sacramento trying to kill packs of enormous rats that infested city lot near downtown
The city of Sacramento has started exterminating more than 100 rats that have infested a vacant lot in Sacramento’s River District where the city plans to build a new fire station.

Many homeless encampments typically line the lot, located on Ahern Street between North A and North B streets, causing city officials to worry the rats could also cause a health crisis.

The Centers for Disease Control has a list of rat-borne diseases. Some wonderful ones besides the plague.

Convective weather

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We have been having some pretty spectacular weather last week. Saturday's thunderstorms were wonderful. There was also quite a rain event in Everett last Monday night. From Cliff Mass:

Super Heavy Rain in Everett Causes Flooding
On Monday night, an intense convective cell parked itself over Everett producing very heavy rain, sewer overflows, and flooding that closed some roads and Everett High School.

Steve Link's twitter feed showed some of the action:

How much rain?  During the 11h ending 11 PM Monday, there was about 3 inches (see below)..and much of that fell between 5 and 7:15 PM Monday.  Surrounding areas had a few tenths or less.

Three inches? I would start building an ark. Quite the deluge.

I agree

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Saw this earlier today:

20190912-kenobi.jpg

Got my vote...

Russian hoax - as the prosecutions begin

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From FOX News:

US attorney recommends proceeding with charges against McCabe, as DOJ rejects last-ditch appeal
U.S. Attorney Jessie Liu has recommended moving forward with charges against CNN contributor Andrew McCabe, Fox News has learned, as the Justice Department rejects a last-ditch appeal from the former top FBI official.

McCabe -- the former deputy and acting director of the FBI -- appealed the decision of the U.S. attorney for Washington all the way up to Jeffrey Rosen, the deputy attorney general, but he rejected that request, according to a person familiar with the situation.

Heh - rolling up the deep state one criminal at a time.

Good news - illegal immigration

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From Yahoo / Agence France Presse:

Trump's immigration crackdown starts to gain traction
With a little help from the Supreme Court and Mexico, US President Donald Trump's fitful crackdown on immigration is finally gaining traction.

Trump has spent his entire presidency promising to stop illegal immigration, shut out asylum seekers and wall off the Mexican border.

The far-reaching policies sparked an avalanche of court challenges, complaints from human rights organizations and derision from opposition Democrats ahead of next year's elections.

Undeterred, Trump has hammered away, making construction of a US-Mexican border wall one of his presidency's centerpieces -- and a key part of his 2020 reelection platform.

And this week he celebrated a string of victories.

A couple of decisions and actions - all wonderful news.

Heading out for a while

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Run to Mt. Vernon today, meeting this evening. Doing some laundry this afternoon.

Nothing much happening on the interwebs - quiet out there.

Heading out for a bit

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Working at home today. Got a meeting tomorrow and friday plus another farm dinner on Saturday so down here for a few days. Doing bills and paperwork. My favorite things...

Eighteen years ago today

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The Muslims staged a huge terrorist attack on American soil.

Have they reformed? Have they apologized? No. No.

More clouds

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The atmosphere is still shifting:

20190910-cloud.jpg

Some gorgeous countryside - I love that there are still working farms here.

Back to work

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Heading out in an hour for the farmer's market and to pick up a book from the library.

Been reading the Preston & Child   Pendergast series. Picked up one of their later books and saw that it was #1) - wonderfully entertaining and #2) - somewhat chronological so went back and am reading from volume one. Finishing up with volume two today or tomorrow and picking up vols. three and four today.

James Cameron in the media

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The guy will not shut up - from Jim Treacher writing at PJ Media:

James Cameron Wants You to 'Wake the F*** Up' About This Supposed Climate Crisis
James Cameron hasn't made a good movie since Bush was president. The first Bush. But Cameron is far richer and more famous than peasants like us, so he gets to scold us for simply trying to live our lives. The society that made him insanely wealthy hasn't reverted back to living in caves, and he's madder than Sarah Connor in an Apple Store.

Matt Donnelly, Variety:

Suzy Amis Cameron has led a charge toward plant-based eating in efforts to reduce the dramatic carbon footprint that meat protein creates. James Cameron, the filmmaker behind classics such as “Titanic,” has woven climate-conscious themes into franchises like “Avatar.” He tells Variety the forthcoming three sequels will do the same.

The two are investors in the plant-based company Verdient Foods and contribute to numerous eco-causes, including Global Green and Oceana. Cameron does not mince words in sharing his thoughts on apathy about the climate crisis.

“People need to wake the f–k up,” the Oscar winner says. “We’re going the wrong direction as fast as possible. I like to say that we’re like Thelma and Louise. We’re driving straight toward the canyon at 90 miles per hour with the radio cranked up and the top down.”

It's fitting that Cameron referenced a movie that's better than anything he'll ever do again. Then he flew back to his massive compound on his private jet.

If Cameron really believed what he's saying, he'd stop making movies. That industry has a huge carbon footprint. But not only is he making a sequel to Avatar, a movie everybody has forgotten about already, he's planning four sequels. Avatar 5 is scheduled for release in 2027, which will be tough to do if we've already driven off the cliff with the radio cranked up and the top down. He doesn't actually think we're all doomed, or there'd be nobody left to buy tickets for his crummy movies.

I have said it before and will say it again. I will believe that there is a climate crisis when the people who are telling me that there is a climate crisis start acting like there is a climate crisis.

Case in point - Obama's $14 million dollar beachfront compound in Martha's Vinyard.

A bit dark but...

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Saw this nice convective cloud on my way home last evening.

20190909-cloud.jpg

No lightning but conditions were there.

An interesting copyright loophole - books

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From Motherboard:

Libraries and Archivists Are Scanning and Uploading Books That Are Secretly in the Public Domain
A coalition of archivists, activists, and libraries are working overtime to make it easier to identify the many books that are secretly in the public domain, digitize them, and make them freely available online to everyone. The people behind the effort are now hoping to upload these books to the Internet Archive, one of the largest digital archives on the internet.

As it currently stands, all books published in the U.S. before 1924 are in the public domain, meaning they’re publicly owned and can be freely used and copied. Books published in 1964 and after are still in copyright, and by law will be for 95 years from their publication date.

But a copyright loophole means that up to 75 percent of books published between 1923 to 1964 are secretly in the public domain, meaning they are free to read and copy. The problem is determining which books these are, due to archaic copyright registration systems and convoluted and shifting copyright law.

As such, a coalition of libraries, volunteers, and archivists have been working overtime to identify which titles are in the public domain, digitize them, then upload them to the internet. At the heart of the effort has been the New York Public Library, which recently documented why the entire process is important, but a bit of a pain.

Very cool. Information wants to be free.

Out for a while

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Working at home today but heading out for a break - coffee, &c.

A change at the White House

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From Tyler at Zero Hedge:

Trump Fires John Bolton After "Disagreeing Strongly With His Suggestions"
While there was some feverish speculation as to what an impromptu presser at 1:30pm with US Secretary of State Pompeo, Treasury Secretary Mnuchin and National Security Adviser Bolton would deliver, that was quickly swept aside moments later when Trump unexpectedly announced that he had fired Bolton as National Security Adviser, tweeting that he informed John Bolton "last night that his services are no longer needed at the White House" after "disagreeing strongly with many of his suggestions."

According to sources, while Trump had been growing displeased with Bolton's belligerent recommendations and overall demeanor (recall "Bolton 'Deep in His Heart' Believes Trump Is a 'Moron,' Former Aide Claims"), the tipping point happened when Bolton expressed his displeasure with Trump's impromptu invitation of the Taliban to Camp David on the week of the Sept 11 anniversary, a peace overture which as we reported over the weekend, collapsed in the last moment.

President Trump wanted to approach this as a business negotiation while Bolton wanted to through the full force and might of our military. He did great work as our United Nations ambassador but not so much as our Security Adviser.

I will be looking forward to reading his book when it comes out.

Expanding your vocabulary - Scottish slang

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Some fun words - from Mental Floss:

28 Scottish Slang Words You Should Know
If you’re thinking that the slang people use in Scotland can't be that different from the slang in England — it’s the same words, just pronounced differently, right? — well, neeb, have a swatch below and find out just how wrong you are.

Here are a few:

    • Glaikit: someone who is gullible and/or lacks common sense. “She’s alright, but a bit glaikit.”
    • Heid-the-baw: an idiot
    • Bampot: an unhinged idiot.
    • Diddy: a spineless idiot.
    • Fandan: a pretentious idiot.
    • Radge: a dangerous idiot.
    • Walloper: an idiot (again).

My Dad's family was low-land Scot - I will be incorporating some of these into my vocabulary.

Another scholarly scandal brewing - 1619

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Seems that someone was making up data to fit the narrative - again. From The College Fix:

Cornell scholar cited in NYT’s ‘1619’ series charged with fabricating quotes, evidence
A Cornell University scholar cited in a recent New York Times piece tying slavery to capitalism was previously found to have inflated statistics, invented facts, and altered quotes, according to fellow academics in his field.

In an October 2016 paper, scholars Alan Olmstead of the University of California Davis and Paul Rhode of the University of Michigan harshly criticized the research of Cornell’s Edward Baptist presented in Baptist’s 2014 book “The Half Has Never Been Told.” In the book, Baptist argues that modern capitalism still contains many of the remnants of slavery and America’s current economy is still influenced by the exploitation of slaves.

Among charges leveled by Olmstead and Rhode were accusations Baptist concocted numbers out of thin air and that Baptist fabricated research to fit his narrative. At a public event at Dartmouth University in 2016, Olmstead decried Baptist’s work as “hocus pocus” while he waved an imaginary wand in the air.

And of course, because this fit the political narrative, it was used without anyone checking the facts:

Baptist has also been cited by influential opinion journalists such as Ta-Nehisi Coates, who recently used the scholar’s figures to argue in favor of reparations for African-Americans.

“By 1836 more than $600 million, almost half of the economic activity in the United States, derived directly or indirectly from the cotton produced by the million-odd slaves,” Coates testified at a congressional hearing in June.

Yet according to Olmstead, Rhode, and others, the $600 million number appears to be fabricated, using double and even triple-counting to arrive at an inflated figure.

Shades of the Michael Bellesiles scandal,  Professor Stephen Ambrose,  fake indian Ward ChurchillThomas Piketty and I could go on. All of these people were respected in their field and published a book that was later thoroughly discredited. They published them because they fit the political liberal narrative. They made up the data to support their claims and were busted for it. Time to add Edward Baptist's name to the dustbin of history.

Now this could be interesting

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The Chinese have the largest radio telescope in the world. They heard something. From Xinhua:

China's giant telescope picks up mysterious signals from deep space
Chinese astronomers have detected repeated fast radio bursts (FRB) - mysterious signals believed to be from a source about 3 billion light years from Earth - with the largest and most sensitive radio telescope ever built.

Scientists detected the signals with the Five-hundred-meter Aperture Spherical Radio Telescope (FAST) and they are carefully cross-checking and processing them, according to researchers at the National Astronomical Observatories of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (NAOC).

FRBs are the brightest bursts known in the universe. They are called "fast" because these blips are very short, only several milliseconds in duration. But there is no reasonable explanation for their origin.

Might be just a leak from the break-room microwave oven but you never can tell. Things might get interesting...

Here is a blurb about the building of the scope and here is the English website for FAST

Pushing back twice as hard

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The liberals have been using Saul Alinsky's playbook for hammering on conservatives. Now, finally, conservatives have gotten wise and are using the same techniques to hammer on the liberals and they are crying fowl. From The Hill:

Liberals haunted by social media tactics they use against the right
The people who have made an industry out of destroying ordinary people’s lives over old social media posts and out-of-context comments are very upset that it’s happening to them. The New York Times, clearly worried by the recent exposure of blatantly anti-Semitic tweets posted by one of its reporters, and clearly worried that even more embarassing material is in reserve, tried to stop the hemorrhaging with a rambling article demonizing the independent journalists who uncovered the tweets.

In fact, much of the liberal media sphere went into panic mode, vehemently declaring that this particular exercise of the First Amendment is actually an attack on the First Amendment. The reason why liberal editors are so distraught that independent conservative journalists are publishing evidence of the racist, anti-Semitic, and otherwise vile sentiments expressed by their supposedly “objective” employees comes down — as it usually does — to power.

Many journalists are in the profession not to inform the public, but to gain the power to destroy people who question them — and they don’t like those tactics being turned against them. “[U]sing journalistic techniques to target journalists and news organizations ... is fundamentally different from the well-established role of the news media in scrutinizing people in positions of power,” the Times wrote in its article — which was of course labeled “news,” not “opinion.”

The newspaper’s publisher, Arthur Sulzberger, added that “The political operatives behind this campaign will argue that they are ‘reporting’ on news organizations in the same way that news organizations report on elected officials and other public figures,” but he roundly rejected that claim, insisting that his antagonists are trying to “manipulate the facts for political gain.”

Pure schedenfreude - cry you may. Become one with the butthurt you must. Don't dish it out if you can not take it.

BOHICA - the 2020 elections

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BOHICA - has a nice Caribbean lilt to it. Actually an acronym standing for Bend Over, Here It Comes Again.

What? A DOSSIER!!!!!! - on President Trump. An embarrassing dossier. Compiled by the fake news mongers at the Democrat Party. From Business Insider:

Democrats are reportedly preparing an embarrassing dossier against Trump before the 2020 election
The Democratic National Committee's research team is conducting research of lawsuits on President Donald Trump that span across the US, according to an Axios report on Sunday.

The DNC reportedly investigated 7,000 lawsuits and composed a document of Trump's seemingly uncompromising statements during the 2016 campaign trail, in which he told supporters that Mexico would pay for the US-Mexico border wall.

News of the opposition research comes amid intense scrutiny around Trump's decision to divert $3.6 billion for military construction projects in order to pay for nearly a dozen projects on the border. Defense Secretary Mark Esper on Tuesday approved the transfer, citing that it would "allow [the Defense Department] to provide support to [Homeland Security] more efficiently and effectively."

After all, the Steele Dossier in 2015-16 worked so well. Paid for by Hillary and the Democrat National Committee and totally discredited within hours of publication. Fake Fake Fake.

Can they not learn from past mistakes? Are they just that dense and out of touch?

Outta here for a bit

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Something I had ordered is available for pickup now at the Burlington Home Depot. Heading up north to get it. Get some Chinese food on my way back home. 

Back in a couple hours...

Great quote

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"It isn't the mountains ahead to climb that wear you out; it's the pebble in your shoe."
--Mohammad Ali

Cute idea for a cat bed

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From the US Patent Office #10,398,125

Laptop or keyboard simulating pet bed
A bed for a pet comprises a computer keyboard simulating enclosure having a top side having a plurality of simulated computer keys, a bottom side adapted for laying on a horizontal surface, and a peripheral edge. A heating element is fixed within the enclosure and is adapted to heat at least the top side of the enclosure. A power conduit traversing the enclosure is adapted for connecting the heating element with a power source. The bed further includes pressure-activated switch for activating the heating element, a keyboard sound simulating device, an illumination device, a vibration device, and/or a simulated laptop display projecting away from a rear side of the enclosure.

20190909-catbed.JPG

I do not know what it is about cats and keyboards but there is an affinity.

Saturday's thunder and lightning

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Great time-lapse video from Greg Johnson of Skunk Bay weather:

Greg's site is on the other side of Whidbey Island from me in Hansville, WA about 40 miles South. An amazing all-around website for Puget Sound weather and maritime activities. I have it bookmarked in my weather folder. Great stuff.

All the rains - the Stillaguamish river

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This is the flow gauge for the Stillaguamish River at Arlington, WA. You can see the extremely low flow resulting from the autumn lack of rainfall. You can also see the results of the recent heavy rains. The little triangular dots are the average water levels:

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Heh - ship of fools

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People looking for global warming find themselves trapped in arctic ice. From Climate Change Dispatch:

Ship Of Fools VI – Arctic ‘Global Warming’ Mission Scuppered By Hard White Substance
Yet another greenie expedition to the Arctic to raise awareness of ‘global warming’ has been scuppered by unexpectedly large quantities of ice.

This brings to a total of six the number of Ship of Fools expeditions where weather reality has made a mockery of climate theory.

According to Maritime Bulletin:

Arctic tours ship MS MALMO with 16 passengers on board got stuck in ice on Sep 3 off Longyearbyen, Svalbard Archipelago, halfway between Norway and the North Pole.

The ship is on Arctic tour with Climate Change documentary film team, and tourists, concerned with Climate Change and melting Arctic ice.

All 16 Climate Change warriors were evacuated by helicopter in challenging conditions, all are safe. 7 crew remains on board, waiting for Coast Guard ship assistance.

The reporter, Erofey Schkvarkin clearly has a sense of humor. He adds:

Something is very wrong with Arctic ice, instead of melting as ordered by UN/IPCC, it captured the ship with Climate Change Warriors.

You can read more about these expeditions at this post from August, 2016

Finally, temperature is just one factor controlling the behavior of the ice pack. Wind and currents play a huge role as well. There was that 2013 Russian exploration ship that got stuck in the ice at Commonwealth Bay and had to be rescued (this happened in Antarctica). Here is a film of the same bay in 1912 shot by the Douglas Mawson expedition:

Choked with ice.

Seriously - they deserve each other

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Clueless alcoholics. From NBC News:

Warren and Clinton talk behind the scenes as 2020 race intensifies
Elizabeth Warren's team doesn't want to talk about Hillary Clinton, but that doesn't mean the 2020 presidential candidate isn't talking with her party's 2016 nominee.

The two women have kept a line of communication open since the Massachusetts senator decided to run for president — though only a conversation around the time of Warren's launch has been previously reported — according to several people familiar with their discussions who spoke to NBC on the condition of anonymity because of the political sensitivity of private interactions.

Zzzzzzz  Wake me up when the Dems have a real candidate to offer.

Best and brightest - Mumps

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Looks like we are getting some healthy and productive future citizens. From the Centers for Disease Control:

Notes from the Field: Mumps in Detention Facilities that House Detained Migrants — United States, September 2018–August 2019
On October 12, 2018, five confirmed cases of mumps among migrants who had been transferred between two detention facilities were reported by the facilities to the Texas Department of State Health Services (TDSHS). By December 11, eight Texas detention facilities and six facilities in five other states had reported 67 mumps cases to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Health Service Corps (IHSC) or local health departments. On December 12, TDSHS contacted CDC to discuss mumps control in detention facilities and facilitate communication with IHSC. During January 4–17, 2019, six more state health departments reported new cases in detention facilities, which prompted CDC and IHSC to launch a coordinated national outbreak response.

And this disease is spreading to the general population:

Since 2015, approximately 150 mumps outbreaks and 16,000 cases have been reported in the United States, typically in close-contact settings such as universities, schools, and athletic events.

The word you are looking for is: Epidemic. Next up will be bubonic plague and ebola. Not if, when.
Get out of the big cities - the shitholes.

Opposite ends of the spectrum

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Aaaand back again

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Got a couple projects this week as well as a trip to the farm. See if there is water in the well or if the pump needs to be replaced.

Quick surf, a couple of videos and then to bed.

Gorgeous sunset tonight - nice colors in the clouds. Supposed to be wet for the rest of this week. Tuesday's farmer's market will be interesting.

Miller time

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Dinner was a salad and some ahi poke. Delicious but now there are two pints of beer with my name on them.

Back in a while.

Hansen Disease? You may know it as Leprosy. From the Journal of the American Medical Association:

Characterization and Outcomes of Patients With Hansen Disease Treated at the Los Angeles County Hospital
Although endemic elsewhere, Hansen disease (HD) is a chronic infection caused by Mycobacterium leprae and Mycobacterium lepromatosis that is rarely seen in the United States. Few domestic reports offer long-term follow-up of patients with HD, who sometimes develop significant morbidity owing to delayed recognition of their illness. The Los Angeles County HD clinic, in operation since 1963, offers an archive that allows the description of the disease courses of a large group of patients with HD.

The full article is behind a paywall. All that we need is for the bubonic plague to rear its ugly little rat head and Los Angeles is done for. All the medieval plagues are returning as we stand by with our collective thumbs up our asses.

I know. A real shocker. From the Beeb:

Iran tanker row: Released ship wanted by US 'seen off Syria'
The Iranian oil tanker at the centre of an international incident has been sailing just off the Syrian coast, satellite images appear to show.

The Adrian Darya-1 was seized by Gibraltar in July with the aid of British forces over fears it was bound for Syria, violating EU sanctions.

It was eventually released after assurances were given that it would not head for the war-ravaged country.

But images released on Saturday seemed to show it two nautical miles offshore.

The images, from US company Maxar Technologies, appeared to place the tanker very close to the Syrian port of Tartus on 6 September.

US National Security Advisor John Bolton tweeted that anyone who believed the ship was no longer headed for Syria was "in denial".

"Tehran thinks it's more important to fund the murderous Assad regime than provide for its own people," he said, alongside another satellite picture. "We can talk, but #Iran's not getting any sanctions relief until it stops lying and spreading terror!"

Iran appealed to the United Nations Security Council and those fools believed them.
Haven't they heard about Taqiyya? Right there in their Quran.

President Trump - their worst nightmare

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Journalist Don Surber has an excellent point:

What they fear most about Trump
A story this weekend showed the worst nightmare for opponents of President Donald John Trump is coming true.

Breitbart News reported, "More than 6.2 million individuals dropped off food stamps since President Donald Trump completed his first full month in office, according to the latest data from the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

"The most recent USDA data shows that 6,268,285 individuals discontinued their participation in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program — the program in charge of food stamps — since February 2017 when Trump finished his first month as president.

"Individual and household food stamp participation has consistently declined since 2013 back when the Obama administration was in power and enrollment in the program reached its highest point in U.S. history."

Those are 6.2 million more Trump voters. Obama gave them food stamps. President Trump got them jobs.

Don talks about the deep state for a bit and closes with this:

A job — or better yet, owning a business — leads to financial independence, which leads to self-reliance, which leads to (dare I say it?) independence. If the people ever realize they do not need a $4 trillion government, Washington is dead.

So true - the deep state needs us normals more than we need them. Much much more. They feed on us for their very existence.

Major drug bust involving Bellingham

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From The Bellingham Herald:

Feds indict 30 in alleged drug-trafficking conspiracy with Whatcom County ties
Thirteen people were arrested Thursday, Sept. 5, and a total of 30 charged in two federal grand jury indictments alleging a conspiracy to traffic hundreds of pounds of cocaine, heroin and methamphetamine from Mexico through Southern California and to Canada in exchange for cash and MDMA or ecstasy.

At least some of the narcotics were moved through or exchanged in Whatcom County, according to the indictments.

Law enforcement also seized approximately 944.7 pounds of cocaine, 19.8 pounds of heroin, 102.7 pounds of methamphetamine and 106.1 pounds of MDMA or ecstasy, according to a press release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office in the Central District of California. Approximately $811,000 in Canadian currency also was seized.

Good news - get that shit off the street and make the perpetrators do hard time for their crimes.

An appropriate trade-show graphic

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From these people: Allegheny Shredders - hat tip to JWZ for the link.

20190908-shred.jpg

A nice dystopian thought for your Sunday morning...

An interesting meeting cancelled

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There is a lot that President Trump is doing that we simply do not hear about - from MSN:

Trump Says He’s Called Off Negotiations With Taliban After Afghanistan Bombing
President Trump said on Saturday that he had canceled a secret meeting at Camp David with Taliban leaders and the president of Afghanistan and was calling off monthslong negotiations that had appeared to be nearing a peace agreement.

“Unbeknownst to almost everyone,” Mr. Trump wrote in a series of tweets, Taliban leaders and the Afghan president, Ashraf Ghani, were headed to the United States on Saturday for what would have been a politically fraught meeting at the president’s official Camp David retreat in Maryland.

But Mr. Trump said that “in order to build false leverage,” the Taliban had admitted to a suicide car bomb attack on Thursday that had killed an American soldier and 11 others in the capital of Kabul. “I immediately cancelled the meeting and called off peace negotiations,” he wrote.

“If they cannot agree to a ceasefire during these very important peace talks, and would even kill 12 innocent people, then they probably don’t have the power to negotiate a meaningful agreement anyway,” Mr. Trump added. “How many more decades are they willing to fight?”

And Associated Press:

Pompeo: Taliban ‘overreached’ in attack that killed American
Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said Sunday that Taliban “overreached” with a car bomb attack in Kabul that killed an American soldier, leading President Donald Trump to call off closely-held Afghanistan peace talks planned for Camp David.

Pompeo said the Trump administration has recalled envoy Zalmay Khalilzad, who has been negotiating with Taliban leaders for months in Qatar, and it will be up to the insurgent group whether talks will resume.

The fools. All they love is war. Reminds me of this quote from Golda Meir:

We can forgive the Arabs for killing our children. We cannot forgive them for forcing us to kill their children. We will only have peace with the Arabs when they love their children more than they hate us.

The Taliban is stuck in the ninth century. A culture of fear and hate.

Last night's thunderstorms

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Seattle meteorologist Cliff Mass had an excellent post-mortem on last night's storms.

Major Convective Event, with Heavy Rain, Lightning and Thunder, Moving Through Puget Sound
An unusual major lightning/thunder event is occurring over Puget Sound, delaying the UW Husky Game.

And interestingly, the UW WRF model forecast the event earlier in the day.

The radar at 8:15 PM shows the action, with the red colors being very heavy precipitation within convection.

More at the site. An unusual event for this area. A welcome one for me - I love lightning.

Wonderful storm

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Much better than YouTube - one for the records.

Our local power company has about 400 people out. Looking at a slightly smaller number for the Seattle Tacoma system. BC Hydro is reporting under 200.

The lightning was intense -- a bolt every ten seconds for a long time - cloudy and a lot of the bolts were obscured but some great hits on Orcas Island and sky to sky.

Substantial T-Storms

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Kept hearing noise and went outside to look - major thunderstorm activity all around - this storm is big. Bellingham down to Tacoma. Here is a realtime map.

Heading outside to spend some time in a lawn chair with a glass of wine. Rain just started so I will be under the awning.

Cute: Microsoft the Musical

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Some of the 2019 summer interns produced this video:

From the YouTube listing::

You Can, You Should, You Will
"Microsoft the Musical" was dreamt up and led by interns spending the summer of 2019 at Microsoft. This Tony Awards-style musical theater opening number is just one of many passion projects that came to life because we were encouraged to bring our whole selves to work. And that’s what we did: 150 interns and employees came in on mornings, weekends, and nights to create this outside of (and in addition to) their day jobs.

Microsoft’s mission is to empower every person and every organization on the planet to achieve more. We hope that this speaks to every person who dreams of being part of something big—and especially to those who’ve been wrongly told they can’t be. At some point, we were all in your shoes. You CAN, you SHOULD, and you WILL.

Spent five years working there - loved it. Got to play with some incredible hardware.

True North - first time in 350 years

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Interesting press release from the British Geological Society:

Hold onto your compass: true north and magnetic north cross at Greenwich for first time in 360 years.
Compasses at Greenwich will point to true north for the first time in 360 years at some point within the next two weeks.

The angle a compass needle makes between true north and magnetic north is called declination. As the magnetic field changes all the time, so does declination at any given location. For the past few hundred years in the UK, declination has been negative, meaning that all compass needles have pointed west of true north.

The line of zero declination, called the agonic, is moving westward at a present rate of around 20 km per year. By September 2019, for the first time since around 1660, the compass needle will point directly to true north at Greenwich, London, before slowly turning eastwards.

We live on a wonderfully dynamic and fluid planet. All sorts of things are in continuous flux - the magnetic poles, solar output, variable climate, sea level, composition of our atmosphere.

Turned on the heat

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Got back home and it was downright chilly with light rain falling. Turned on a space heater for the first time in a while.

Have a heat pump but only need to take a chill off so using the room heater for now.

Heading out for some dinner

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Had a late lunch so just doing a burrito. Stop by my local for a couple pints and that is my evening.

Back in a couple of hours.

Cooled off a lot today and there are showers forecast for the next week or so.

The enemies among us - Islam

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From Breitbart News:

Exclusive–American Airlines Mechanic Accused of Sabotaging Flight Came to U.S. from Iraq
An American Airlines mechanic who is accused of sabotaging a commercial flight originally arrived in the United States from Iraq, Breitbart News has confirmed.

On Friday, federal court records revealed that Abdul-Majeed Marouf Ahmed Alani allegedly tampered with a navigation system on a plane filled with 150 passengers set to take off from Miami, Florida and bound for Nassau, the Bahamas on July 17

And there are still people out there that think multiculturalism is a good thing. It is not. It is a failure of thought. People need to be taken on a case by case basis.

Jeffrey Epstein - still making news

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He hung himself was arkancided (here, here and here) but he is still very much in the news. From OAN Network:

Head Of M.I.T. Media Lab Resigns After Being Accused Of Concealing Donations Made By Jeffrey Epstein
The head of M.I.T.’S media lab resigns, amid claims he was part of an effort to cover up donations made by Jeffrey Epstein.

Joichi Ito stepped down Saturday, just one day after a bombshell New Yorker article revealed he continued to work with Epstein, despite him being listed as “disqualified” in the university’s donor database.

M.I.T. previously acknowledged it had received $800,000 from Epstein. However, the university was reportedly unaware that the late financier helped secure more than $7.5 million in donations for the lab, including two million dollars from Bill Gates.

Ito has had a very interesting life. Being director of the MIT Media Lab is a plum position. Screwed it up.

Heading out for a bit

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Been puttering around the house this morning. Heading out for coffee &c...

An interesting observation

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From The Atlantic:

Elite Failure Has Brought Americans to the Edge of an Existential Crisis
In 1998, The Wall Street Journal and NBC News asked several hundred young Americans to name their most important values. Work ethic led the way—naturally. After that, large majorities picked patriotism, religion, and having children.

Twenty-one years later, the same pollsters asked the same questions of today’s 18-to-38-year-olds—members of the Millennial and Z generations. The results, published last week in The Wall Street Journal, showed a major value shift among young adults. Today’s respondents were 10 percentage points less likely to value having children and 20 points less likely to highly prize patriotism or religion.

The nuclear family, religious fealty, and national pride— family, God, and country —are a holy trinity of American traditionalism. The fact that allegiance to all three is in precipitous decline tells us something important about the evolution of the American identity.

The author's basic thesis is this: The nuclear family, God, and national pride are a holy trinity of the American identity. What would happen if a generation gave up on all three?

An interesting (and well documented) read.

Agent of the deep state - Robert Mueller

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He has been portrayed as the upstanding pillar of virtue when dealing with the so-called Russian collusion. (Orange Man Bad) He is just another tool of the deep state. From the New York Post:

Robert Mueller helped Saudi Arabia cover up its role in 9/11 attacks: suit
After a lengthy investigation, special counsel Robert Mueller charged Russia made “multiple, systematic efforts to interfere in our election” and said the incursion “deserves the attention of every American.”

But former FBI investigators say their old boss didn’t feel the same concern when they uncovered multiple, systemic efforts by the Saudi government to assist the hijackers in the lead-up to the 9/11 attacks — a far more consequential, to say nothing of deadly, foreign influence operation on America.

As the head of the FBI at the time, they say Mueller was not nearly as interested in investigating that espionage conspiracy, which also involved foreign intelligence officers. Far from it, the record shows he covered up evidence pointing back to the Saudi Embassy and Riyadh — and may have even misled Congress about what he knew.

9/11 victims agree. “He was the master when it came to covering up the kingdom’s role in 9/11,” said survivor Sharon Premoli, who was pulled from the rubble of the World Trade Center 18 years ago.

“In October of 2001, Mueller shut down the government’s investigation after only three weeks, and then took part in the Bush [administration’s] campaign to block, obfuscate and generally stop anything about Saudi Arabia from being released,” added Premoli, now a plaintiff in the 9/11 lawsuit against Saudi Arabia.

In fact, Mueller threw up roadblocks in the path of his own investigators working the 9/11 case, while making it easier for Saudi suspects to escape questioning, multiple case agents told me. Then he deep-sixed what evidence his agents did manage to uncover, according to the 9/11 lawsuit against the Saudis.

Good that this is coming out - too little too late but still, sunlight is needed.
Our government has become corrupt at the highest levels. Started with the Kennedy administration.
Really got going with Lyndon Johnson.

Vaping - from the CDC

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Straight from the horses mouth. The Centers for Disease Control:

Outbreak of Lung Illness Associated with Using E-cigarette Products
CDC, U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), state and local health departments, and other clinical and public health partners are investigating a multistate outbreak of severe pulmonary disease associated with e-cigarette product (devices, liquids, refill pods, and/or cartridges) use. This investigation is ongoing and has not identified a cause, but all reported cases have a history of using e-cigarette products.

Latest Outbreak Information

    • As of September 6, 2019, over 450 possible cases of lung illness associated with the use of e-cigarette products have been reported to CDC from the following 33 states and 1 U.S. territory: AR, CA, CO, CT, DE, FL, GA, IA, IL, IN, KS, KY, LA, MD, MI, MN, MT, NC, NE, NJ, NM, NY, OH, OR, PA, SC, TN, TX, UT, VA, VT, WI, WV, and the U.S. Virgin Islands). These numbers may change frequently.
    • Five deaths have been confirmed in California, Illinois, Indiana, Minnesota, and Oregon.
    • CDC worked with states to create a case definition to classify cases in a consistent way. State investigators determine if cases are confirmed or probable after examining the medical records of suspected cases and consulting with the clinical care team to exclude other possible causes. Unlike nationally reportable conditions, these cases are requiring clinicians and public health to interview patients to determine product use and individual behaviors.
    • CDC will report numbers of confirmed and probable cases once states have finalized their classification of cases.
    • We expect that states and clinicians may look back for older cases based on CDC’s case definition. States are in the process of classifying current possible cases as well as older cases.
    • No evidence of infectious diseases has been identified; therefore lung illnesses are likely associated with a chemical exposure. Initial published reports from the investigation point to clinical similarities among cases. Patients report e-cigarette use and similar symptoms and clinical findings. These align with the CDC health advisory released August 30, 2019.
    • The investigation has not identified any specific substance or e-cigarette product that is linked to all cases. Many patients report using e-cigarette products with liquids that contain cannabinoid products, such as tetrahydrocannabinol (THC).
    • These investigations are ongoing. CDC will provide updates when more information is available.

Want to quit smoking? Use the patches or gum - much safer.

Got nothing

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Full day today. Ahi was wonderful (a local restaurant supply was having a sale on frozen 6oz filets so bought a case) - a true taste of the other island. Beers were cold and wet. Picked up some wonderful tomatoes at the farmer's market. Planning to do a Panzanella Salad with them.

Nothing on the internet so heading over to YouTube for the night.

Emergency preparedness kits

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Amazon has a nice selection.

Remember, it is not "if".  It is "when".

As it says. Heading out in a little bit for the farmer's market and then back home to cook the Ahi tuna for dinner.

Out for a couple beers at my local after that.

Not a good move by our government

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A little too tyrannical and big brother-ish. From Forbes:

Exclusive: Feds Demand Apple And Google Hand Over Names Of 10,000+ Users Of A Gun Scope App
Own a rifle? Got a scope to go with it? The U.S. government might soon know who you are, where you live and how to reach you.

That’s because the government wants Apple and Google to hand over names, phone numbers and other identifying data of at least 10,000 users of a single gun scope app, Forbes has discovered. It’s an unprecedented move: Never before has a case been disclosed in which American investigators demanded personal data of users of a single app from Apple and Google. And never has an order been made public where the feds have asked the Silicon Valley giants for info on so many thousands of people in one go.

According to an application for a court order filed by the Department of Justice (DOJ) on September 5, investigators want information on users of Obsidian 4, a tool used to control rifle scopes made by night-vision specialist American Technologies Network Corp. The app allows gun owners to get a live stream, take video and calibrate their gun scope from an Android or iPhone device. According to the Google Play page for Obsidian 4, it has more than 10,000 downloads. Apple doesn’t provide download numbers, so it’s unclear how many iPhone owners could be swept up in this latest government data grab.

If the court approves the demand, and Apple and Google decide to hand over the information, it could include data on thousands of people who have nothing to do with the crimes being investigated, privacy activists warned. Edin Omanovic, lead on Privacy International's State Surveillance program, said it would set a dangerous precedent and scoop up “huge amounts of innocent people’s personal data.”

I sincerely hope that the unelected bureaucrat who came up with this gets fired immediately and fired, not promoted to a lesser position for six months and then quietly reinstated with a raise in pay as is done frequently.

This is federal overreach on a grand scale.

Vaping in the news

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Proponents claim that it is safe but I have my doubts. They also claim that it is a way to reduce nicotine consumption but everyone I know has increased the concentration over time. From The New York Times:

Cases of Vaping-Related Lung Illness Surge, Health Officials Say
Medical experts and federal health officials on Friday warned the public about the dangers of vaping and discouraged using the devices as the number of people with a severe lung illness linked to vaping has more than doubled to 450 possible cases in 33 states. The number of deaths linked to vaping rose to four from two on Friday.

The Indiana Department of Health announced the third death, and hours later, officials in Minnesota confirmed that a fourth person had died. The Los Angeles County Department of Public Health said Friday that it was investigating a possible fifth death, saying that the fatality was “associated with the use of e-cigarettes.”

“There is clearly an epidemic that begs for an urgent response,” Dr. David C. Christiani of the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health wrote in an editorial published on Friday in The New England Journal of Medicine.

We simply do not have enough history. It took several hundred years of tobacco use to get the laws that we have today. Vaping is going to get much worse before it will get better.

The wicked witch is dead. Three headlines:

I bet Satan has some nice surprises for him when he arrives... He came to power when Zimbabwe was a prosperous nation and Africa's breadbasket. When he left, the Zimbabwean economy was shattered and the nation had to beg for food for its people.

A couple years ago, I purchased a ten billian dollar banknote for about $20. Now, you can get them on Amazon for $4 and they have printed more currency - their banknotes now go up to $100 Trillion Dollars - worth about $85 USD.

Get woke, go broke - ThinkProgress

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Didn't make a profit for its owners - from The Daily Beast:

ThinkProgress, a Top Progressive News Site, Has Shut Down
ThinkProgress, the influential news site that rose to prominence in the shadow of the Bush administration and helped define progressivism during the Obama years, is shutting down.

The outlet, which served as an editorially independent project of the Democratic Party think tank Center for American Progress (CAP), will stop current operations on Friday and be converted into a site where CAP scholars can post.

Top officials at CAP had been searching for a buyer to take over ThinkProgress, which has run deficits for years, and according to sources there were potentially three serious buyers in the mix recently. But in a statement to staff, Navin Nayak, the executive director of the Center for American Progress Action Fund, said the site was ultimately unable to secure a patron.

Pure schadenfreude. That site did not need a patron. It was brain dead and on life support. Someone, out of mercy, finally pulled the plug. Pushing a narrative might get a week or two of traction with the general public but we are smart and if the narrative does not support the facts, we will ignore it after a while. Pushing just narrative 24/7 for many years will cause the perceptual equivalent of nasal fatigue.

Out the door

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Running a couple of errands today. Working at home this afternoon. Coffee first.

Gun laws - Maine

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A perfect article on why guns lower crime. From American Thinker:

Four years after allowing universal ‘concealed carry’ law, Maine rated the safest state in the nation for crime
Since 2015, residents of the state of Maine have been allowed to carry a concealed firearm without any special permit, and now the results are in: crime has fallen to the point where the state is now rated the safest in the nation from the threat of crime. The Maine Examiner reports:

When Maine passed a “Constitutional Carry” law allowing Maine residents to carry a concealed firearm without any special permit in 2015, opponents of the law forecast a dangerous future for the state. They said the new law would hurt public safety and put Maine kids at risk.

One state representative who opposed the bill went so far as to say it would give Mainers a reason to be afraid every time they went out in public or to work.

Another state representative suggested the law would lead to violent criminals with recent arrests and convictions legally carrying handguns.

Well, there is the narrative and then there are the facts - let's look at them:

The US News &World Report rankings of the safest states has named Maine as the safest state in the nation.

Public safety makes up 50 percent of the Best States for crime & corrections ranking. This subcategory evaluates both the violent crime rate and the property crime rate in each state, as measured by the FBI in 2017. Though some major cities, such as Chicago and Baltimore, have seen drastic increases in homicides in recent years, overall violent crime and property crime rates remain near historic lows.

A higher state ranking indicates a lower crime rate for these metrics. Maine ranks first in the nation for public safety. Fellow New England state Vermont places second in this subcategory, followed by New Hampshire, New Jersey and Idaho.

It keeps bearing out - more guns, less crime.

Argentinians love their steak

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Video from a rodeo - vegetarian protestors interrupt the event:

From the YouTube link:

Vegans stage protest during a rodeo...
Argentinian cowboys put their whips to good use..

"Vegan and Animal Rights Activists Stage Protest at Exposición Rural.

This Saturday at La Exposición de Gandadería, – commonly known as Expo Rural – more than 40 vegan activists staged a peaceful protest interrupting a dressage contest.

The activists walked onto the central track, bearing posters with slogans against the exploitation of animals.

Less than a minute later, a tense and violent altercation ensued: using their horses, gauchos ran them off and out of the area.

Most audience members repudiated the protest, erupting in applause when the activists were kicked off"

Heh - silly vegans...

An interesting look at soy

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A lot of people are relying on soy protein for their diet. Here is an look at why this might not be such a good idea
From Natural Foods:

Fermented Soy is Only Soy Food Fit for Human Consumption
Writings about the soybean date back to 3000 B.C., when the Emperor of China listed the virtues of soybean plants for regenerating the soil for future crops. His praises centered on the root of the plant, not the bean. These ancient writing suggested that the Chinese recognized the unfitness of soybeans for human consumption in their natural form. Now 5000 years later, we are once again catching on to the anti-nutritive qualities of the soybean, and realizing that the only soybean worth eating is one that has been fermented.

About 1000 B.C. some smart person in China discovered that a mold, when allowed to grow on soybeans, destroyed the toxins present and made the nutrients in the beans available to the body. This process became known as fermentation and led to the creation of the still popular foods tempeh, miso, and natto.

A few centuries later, a simpler process was developed to prepare soybeans for consumption. After lengthy soaking and cooking, the beans were treated with nigari, a substance found in seawater. The end product was tofu. During the Ming dynasty, fermented soy appeared in the Chinese Materia Medica as a nutritionally important food and an effective remedy for diseases.

A bit more - some symptoms:

Unfermented soy has been linked to digestive distress, immune system breakdown, PMS, endometriosis, reproductive problems for men and women, allergies, ADD and ADHD, higher risk of heart disease and cancer, malnutrition, and loss of libido.

Groups most at risk of experiencing negative effects from the anti-nutrient properties of soy are infants taking soy baby formula, vegetarians eating a high soy diet, and mid-life women going heavy on the soy foods thinking they will help with symptoms of menopause.

I wonder if this is in part the cause of the ills of modern civilization. Everyone is so triggered all the time, people needing anti-depressants, panic attacks, etc... Our soy intake has certainly spiked over the last 20 years. I use it myself but use it as tofu and do a minimal use as TVP.

As for a simple vegetarian diet, there are these two headlines:

I could go on but you get the idea...

Tired - time for YouTube and bed

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Off to the land of Morpheus...

Party like it's 1992

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Microsoft just released an update to WINFILE.EXE - the Windows 3.1 File Manager application. Runs fine on Win10

MSFT Company Store or GitHub

Talk about coming a long long way...

20190905-winfile.JPG

Update to an earlier post

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Earlier today, I wrote: Throw another shrimp on the barbie?

Denny Wilson writing at Grouchy Old Cripple links to the same story and also this one - from FOX News:

Texas Man Stages Pig Races to Protest Islamic Neighbor's Plans to Build Mosque
KATY, Texas – When an Islamic group moved in next door and told Craig Baker the pigs on his family's 200-year-old Texas farm had to go, he and his swine decided to fight back.

In protest of being asked to move, Davis began staging elaborate pig races on Friday afternoons — one of the Islamic world's most holy days.

Craig's neighbors, the Katy Islamic Association, have plans to build a mosque and community compound on the 11 acres they purchased alongside his farm.

Baker, 46, a stone-shop owner whose family has owned the farm for two centuries, says the association knew about the pigs when they bought the property, and it's not fair for them to ask him to get rid of the animals.

"I am just defending my rights and my property," Baker said. "They totally disrespected me and my family."

Like Baker said, they knew about the pigs when they bought the property. End of story.

Respecting someone's culture is very much a two-way street.

Futile? Impotent? Worthless?

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Some liberal activists are in the news - from The Washington Post:

Hundreds protest against Wal-Mart in 15 cities, demanding higher wages
Hundreds of people protested at a suburban Maryland Wal-Mart over wages and worker protections Thursday as D.C. Mayor Vincent C. Gray (D) weighed whether to sign legislation that would force the nation’s largest retailer to pay a 50 percent premium over the city’s minimum wage.

The national day of action, which spanned 15 cities, was the latest in a running battle between Wal-Mart and activists backed by national unions.

Oooooooooo - they staged a National Day of Action and only managed to drum up hundreds of people. These morons have nothing. They are living out the bitter ends of their communist fever-dreams in the safety of their parents basements tucked under their Star Wars© blankie and raging, raging I tell you, against the evils of that Orange Man

As a reality check, Walmart employs 2.2 million people worldwide. From their website:

Opportunity
Walmart employs 2.2 million associates around the world. About 75% of our store management teams started as hourly associates, and last year, we promoted more than 215,000 people to jobs with greater responsibility and higher pay.

Bring willingness to work to the table, you will get promoted to positions of higher responsibility and higher pay.

Let us be generous and say that four thousand people showed up to protest. These people represent 0.18% of the number of people that Walmart gainfully employs. In most engineering analyses, this would be considered to be well below the noise floor.

The unions like to raise the minimum wage because a lot of union contracts are pegged to this number. Something not mentioned in the mainstream media.

Throw another shrimp on the barbie?

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Sounds like a fun gathering in Australia - from The Epoch Times:

Thousands of Meat Lovers Plan Mass BBQ At House Of Vegan Who Sued Neighbors For Cooking Meat
Thousands of meat-eaters are planning to attend a mass barbecue outside the home of a vegan woman who had sued her neighbors over a series of perceived provocations—most notably the odor of meat and fish sizzling on their backyard grill.

“This is the Aussie version of ‘storm area 51’ and she can’t sue all of us!” wrote one of the commenters in a Facebook community event headlined “Community BBQ for Cilla Carden,” which over 3,300 people have said they plan to take part in, while over 8,000 have said they are “interested” in coming.

Carden told 9News that she had taken her fight against neighbor Toan Vu and his family all the way to the Supreme Court of Western Australia, demanding they put a stop to a range of behaviors in their backyard that she finds upsetting—including children playing and meat cooking on the barbecue.

The massage therapist said her neighbors have spoiled her ability to enjoy her backyard in the suburb of Girrawheen by intentionally letting their barbecue meat and fish smells waft into her yard.

A bit more:

Likely adding to Carden’s distress is the prospect of the event, which is due to take place on Saturday, Oct. 19 at 3 p.m., with one member of the online community suggesting they go “full Ron Swanson and slaughter a live pig on site,” while another chimed in with “oh yes and some cigars, yes every neighbour loves the smell of pungent cigars wafting into their airspace.”

Heh - Ron Swanson is one of my spirit animals. Sounds like a delightful party. Also sounds like an asshole neighbor. The Vu's would have probably been very happy to toss a slice of zucchini on their grill, pop open a Fosters, and laugh about various dietary foibles but Ms. Carden decided that she would control them and lawyer up. Stupid little tyrant.

Party like it's 2008 - financial crisis

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Looks like the home mortgage market is going to go pear-shaped AGAIN... From Wolf Street:

Fuel for the Next Mortgage Bust?
For a moment this morning, I thought I was back in 2005 or early 2006, when I listened to a dazzling radio show, hyping cash-out refinancing of your mortgage.

The show was funded by a shadow-bank specializing in mortgage lending. They were promoting their efficient service, that didn’t involve the normal hoops to jump through, and it was a fantastic deal, to not only refinance your mortgage to capture the lower mortgage rates currently available – the lowest since November 2016 – but also to use the home as an ATM once again to cash out the equity that the home had accumulated, due to years of sharp price increases.

That this date of November 2016 keeps popping up is interesting by itself, because on November 10, 2016, according to Freddie Mac data, the average conforming 30-year fixed rate mortgage had an interest rate of about 3.6%, same as now. But six weeks later, December 22, 2016, that average mortgage rate had jumped to 4.3%. That was a jump of three-quarters of a percentage point in just six weeks. Mortgage rates can get very jumpy when the market figures out that they’d been mispriced.

The promo this morning acknowledged this jumpiness and pushed listeners to act now on a cash-out refi at these ultralow mortgage rates, or miss out forever.

Needless to say, there are two issues at play:

#1) - there is much more at the site. Go and read the whole thing if you are thinking about this  -and-

#2) - the 'folks' offering you this great deal are blowing smoke up your ass and calling it magic.

In those immortal words: "caveat emptor"

A bit of a rumble

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Three hours ago - this is along the fault line that has a lot of people concerned.

Magnitude 5.9 off-shore of Bandon Oregon

From the Bellingham Herald:

Did you feel it? Second moderate-sized quake in a week rattles Northwest region
For the second time in approximately a week, a moderate-sized earthquake struck off the Oregon coast Thursday morning, Sept. 5. Just like last week, the U.S. Tsunami Warning Center is not issuing any alerts following the 5.9 magnitude quake that struck at 8:02 a.m.

According to the U.S. Geological Survey website, Thursday’s seismic activity was centered 10 kilometers beneath the surface and approximately 182 miles west-northwest of Coos Bay, Oregon. The epicenter was approximately 433 miles from Bellingham, according to googlemaps.com.

According to the USGS, the quake was centered near the Blanco Fracture Zone, which according to Oregon State University is part of the boundary between the Juan de Fuca-Gorda and Pacific plates.

As of 9:30 a.m., nine people had r reported feeling the quake to the USGS, but one of those was in Tacoma.

Fortunately, my coffee place is about 300 feet above sea level - should be safe there...

Something to keep in mind - islam

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Talk about being a self-centered and entitled little bitch. It is all about her and her narrative.

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Nothing catches my eye

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Went from the first page of the internet to the last page and nothing caught my eye.

Watch a couple videos and try again tomorrow.

Back home for the evening

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Got a lot accomplished today - trip to Bellingham was productive.

Didn't get back in time to cook the Ahi as I had planned so had dinner on the road. Meeting was good - our group is planning a major event for November and things are coalescing nicely.

Surf for a bit and an early bedtime.

Out for a bit.

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Working at home today but heading out for my morning routine. Got some ahi tuna thawing out for dinner tonight. Sear that and plate with some rice and vegies. A taste of a different island.

Supposed to be nice weather so getting my WSPR antenna up tomorrow. Been reliably getting 1K-2K miles with a short length of wire dropped outside my window. It will be interesting to see what kind of range I can get with a 15' wire that has been impedence matched with a balun and a proper ground.

Wonderful news - unions

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Looks like the heads of the labor unions are a bit worried. From Breitbart:

Union Bosses Fear Workers Will Stick with Trump: ‘It’s a Serious Problem’
Union bosses, closely tied to the Democrat Party, say American union workers sticking with President Trump in 2020 and his economic nationalist agenda is “a serious problem” for them.

A report by the Wall Street Journal reveals how union bosses and Democrats are looking to peel off Trump’s support from American union workers who back his agenda, where most recently he has demanded multinational corporations move their production in China to the U.S.

The Journal reports:

“It’s a serious problem for us,” said Alan Netland, president of the North East Area Labor Council in Duluth, Minn., which represents 40,000 union members. “People may say, ‘I voted Republican and the world didn’t fall in, so maybe I better keep doing that.’”

Union officials, along with Democratic presidential candidates, are now trying to highlight what they see as a yawning gap between the president’s pro-worker rhetoric and his policies.

Democratic candidates have put appeals to working-class voters at the front of their campaigns. “I am a union man,” declared former Vice President Joe Biden, who leads in 2020 primary polls, during his campaign kickoff in Pennsylvania in May. [Emphasis added]

Vice President of the United Mine Workers of America in Uniontown, Pennsylvania, Chuck Knissel said based on the current 2020 Democrats running for president, it will be difficult to get union workers to vote for anyone other than Trump.

Good. Maybe the union bosses will listen to their constituents for a change. They have been listening to the power brokers in D.C. and look where it has gotten them.

Alexandria Occasional-Cortex and Antifa

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Another example of fellow travelers. From The Lid:

AOC Fund-Raised For Antifa
The face of the Democratic Party, Squad member Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, got involved with raising bail money for  Antifa terrorists, some of whom were in jail for attacking the police. The Antifa terrorists were arrested in Boston while attempting to disrupt a straight pride parade and committing assault and battery on a police officer.

Not very grounded in reality...

Selling guns

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From Justin Maloney's Twitter feed:

So true...

She discovered the truth about her fellow travelers. From Breitbart:

Marianne Williamson: ‘I Didn’t Think the Left Lied like This’
Presidential candidate Marianne Williamson (D) revealed that she did not think the left was “so mean” and “lied like this” until she ran for president as an outsider candidate.

“I know this sounds naive. I didn’t think the left was so mean. I didn’t think the left lied like this,” Williamson told the New Yorker’s David Remnick in an interview. “I thought the right did that. I thought we were better.”

A bit more:

Williamson has in recent weeks criticized the “political-media industrial complex” and warned Democrats that nominating a conventional or establishment candidate to go up against President Donald Trump in 2020 could be disastrous.

So true. This is what the Democrats do. They have nothing to offer except a constant stream of ad hominem attacks. If there is something that they cannot debate with facts, they fling poo and hope that it sticks.

Ms. Williamson should consider changing parties - not only are conservatives a lot more resonable and caring, we have milk and cookies...

From Bloomberg:

Hundreds of Names in Sealed Epstein Materials, Judge Told
A lawyer for alleged victims of Jeffrey Epstein told a judge that hundreds of names of people associated with the late money manager should be made public in documents that are currently sealed in a defamation lawsuit.

Sigrid McCrawly, who has represented victims for five years, said at a hearing Wednesday in New York that only social security numbers, medical information and the names of minors should be kept secret as more documents are unsealed in the case, and that everything else should come to light.

“Anybody whose information is in the documents would be notified so they could object,” McCrawley, of the law firm Boies Schiller Flexner LLP, said at the hearing.

And the list is leaked in 3... 2... 1...

Got a group meeting at 6:00PM tomorrow. Stuff to do earlier so getting up a bit early. Trip to Bellingham.

Farmer's market was a lot of fun today - the farm I like is having an eight day Natural Farming Retreat with Larry Korn who was a disciple of Masanobu Fukuoka who was one of the first proponents of no-till farming. He was a scientist who carefully documented his techniques and the resulting crop yields (better than with commercial, chemical farming). Korn was at the market today making seed balls for people to take.

Gets a great review at Slashdot:

Why the Amazon Basics Keyboard Is My Favorite Keyboard
Full stack developer and teacher, Nick Janetakis, says the Amazon Basics keyboard is one of his favorite general purpose/programming keyboards. "It hits all the major points that make a keyboard good and it also happens to be only $14," he writes.

Amazon also lists the option to by quantity 10 of them for $81.65. Ordering one to try and see how it performs. I type reasonably well and am fussy about my keyboards. The one I am using on my media machine is a Walmart house-brand gaming keyboard for $45. The thing has a great feel and is bulletproof. It is a monster.

Get woke, go broke - Walmart

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It is not like Walmart will actually go broke (shop there regularly myself) but their decision today is nothing but pandering to the vocal minority of gun grabbers. From CNBC:

Walmart plans to dramatically step back from ammunition sales after ‘horrific’ shootings
Walmart said Tuesday it will discontinue all sales of handgun ammunition and sales of short-barrel rifle ammunition that can be used with military-style weapons, following two “horrific” shootings at Walmart stores this summer.

Excuse me but the one horrific shooting in El Paso happened at a Walmart located in a mall managed by the Simon corporation. Simon's published Code of Conduct specifically states:

20190803-simon.JPG

In other words, a gun-free zone. How did that work out for them. Had one or two people there been armed, the toll from this mentally ill a**hole would have been substantially less than what transpired.

And then, there is this (from the same report):

The biggest retailer in the world also is asking customers at Walmart and Sam’s Club to no longer openly carry firearms in stores, in states where “open carry” is allowed, unless they are authorized law enforcement officers. Open carry legislation is currently on the books in more than 26 states, Dan Bartlett, executive vice president of corporate affairs, said during a call with members of the media.

Walmart said it won’t be changing its policy for customers who have permits for concealed carry. And it will be adding signage to stores in the coming weeks to communicate the updates.

Thank heaven for small favors - they are still allowing permitted concealed carry. What a dumb move. Pandering to a minority while making their stores less safe for us "normals".

James Comey - the rat

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Three clickable headlines:

SHOT:
Inspector general finds James Comey did not release classified information to the public

CHASER:
Yes, Comey did leak classified information
James Comey: Another government elite treating public records like private property

The first link is from major Fake News outlet CBS of course. Pushing the progressive narrative 24/7.

Great quote - Robert Anson Heinlein

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"Progress doesn't come from early risers - progress is made by lazy men looking for easier ways to do things."
--Robert Heinlein

Out for a bit

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Farmer's market, library and some errands.

Have a burrito for dinner - late lunch today.

Ho. Li. Crap - new processors from Intel

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Pin count is an interesting way to look at chip complexity. The new CPUs being developed by Intel bring this up to a ridiculous number: 4,189. From AnandTech:

Intel’s LGA4189-4 and LGA4189-5 for Cooper Lake & Ice Lake CPUs Now Available
TE Connectivity, a maker of various connectivity solutions, has introduced its newly-developed LGA4189 sockets for Intel’s next-generation Xeon Scalable processors supporting PCIe Gen 4. The products have been validated by Intel and are therefore ready for production of motherboards aimed at next-gen servers. It is worth noting that we already know some Cooper Lake systems are already deployed at large companies, suggesting that some LGA4189 sockets have been validated already.

TE offers LGA4189-4 and LGA3189-5 sockets (which are called Socket P4 and Socket P5), appropriate backplates, compatible bolster plates, mounting mechanisms, and dust covers. As discovered previously, Intel’s next-generation Xeon Scalable processors in LGA4189 packaging will feature a native eight-channel memory controller and PCIe 4.0, with at least eight channel memory on standard configurations.

The original CPU, the 4004, had 16 pins. The first practical CPU, the 8080, brought this up to 40 pins. Intels first 16-bit CPU was the 80286 was available in either a 68 pin or a 100 pin version. Now we are at 4,189 pins. Pretty major growth over almost 50 years.

Dead people vote Democrat

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They have nothing to offer us "normals" so they resort to cheating. Voter fraud. From OAN News:

Ohio Democrats File Lawsuit To Stall Voter Roll Purge Approved By SCOTUS
The Ohio Democrat Party filed a lawsuit to stop the state’s purge of infrequent voters. According to the lawsuit, in addition to a restraining order to block the purge, state Democrats also want Secretary of State Frank LaRose to manually review each voter scheduled to be removed.

The current law, which was deemed “constitutional” by the U.S. Supreme Court in 2018, says a voter is at risk if they haven’t voted in six years. However, Democrats pointed out the system removed active voters, but LaRose said those issues were fixed.

LaRose also said many of the voters being removed had either passed away or moved out of state, but they all received mailers notifying them of their pending removal.

Every state needs to do this. When I moved to the island, it would have been so easy to maintain voting status in both counties but I did not. The rolls need to be purged.

Good meeting - local group

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Met with a potential new member of one of the groups. I am the Vice President of this group so was wearing my "official" hat. Good people.

Out the door

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9:00AM meeting - run a few errands and back home for the day.

David Chappelle on Jussie Smollett

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David is one of the best comedians out there - excellent analysis:

And that is it for the evening

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Nothing catches my eye. The Tuesday meeting is at 9:00AM so setting the alarm for tomorrow. Got to get coffee first.

Working at home next couple of days. Meeting a friend for dinner over the weekend (no firm date yet). Getting ready to sign with a builder for the shop. That will be an expensive proposition but a great one. Get this puppy started.

Really looking forward to putting the farm and the store on the market next spring. They are more of a weight than a joy these days.

I did bring the pruning ladder down today so will erect the WSPR antenna in a few days. On to stage two of my WSPR experiments. Also brought down the last of my big radio station today. Need a different antenna for it. I do not have the real estate for a 300+ foot long wire antenna. Getting a vertical.

Hurricane Dorian update

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Back from the farm

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Everything was fine up there with one exception. No water. I didn't have much time to look into this but will next time I am up. It has been a very dry summer so the well itself might have gone dry but that would be unusual as it is 190 feet deep. Either that or the well pump is about seven years old so it might need replacing - they usually last 10-15 years so that is a bit early.

The joys of country living. Anyone out there want to buy a nice 30 acre farm with a couple good outbuildings?

Meetings tomorrow morning and Wednesday evening.

Out for coffee &c

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Heading out for coffee and a few errands.

Running up to the farm today to get the mail and check on a couple of things. Back in the late afternoon.

by a higher power. From National Geographic:

Hidden earthquake risk found lurking beneath Los Angeles
The ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach bustle with activity—their colorful array of shipping containers are stacked and unstacked in a never-ending, multibillion-dollar game of Tetris. But a previously overlooked danger lurks below this frenzy: A fault capable of generating earthquakes magnitude 6.3 or greater.

The Wilmington fault, as it’s called, is an elusive type of fracture. Unlike many faults, which crack Earth’s surface like an egg, the Wilmington fault is “blind,” which means it’s concealed beneath the surface, making it especially difficult to study. So while scientists have long known the fault is present—stretching 12.4 miles under southern Los Angeles into San Pedro Bay—it was presumed to have sat quiet for millions of years.

Now, a new analysis of the system, published in Bulletin of the Seismological Society of America, suggests that isn’t the case. Using a cluster of clues incorporated into a three-dimensional model, the study authors posit that the fault has been active much more recently than once thought —and likely still poses a risk to people on the surface.

6.3? Come on - how about a nice 9 Mag... Clean out all the vermin - Hollywood? Pop culture? The media?
Time to start over again with a clean slate. Gorgeous state, bad people.

Having it both ways

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From the New York Post:

Angry Muslim voters clamor for Democrats’ attention at annual conference
Angry Muslim American voters are tired of being ignored by the Democratic Party’s presidential candidates — even though they make up a fast-growing source of Democrat votes.

Only two of the party’s White House contenders, Bernie Sanders and Julian Castro, agreed to speak at Saturday’s presidential forum at the annual convention of the Islamic Society of North America (ISNA) which has drawn 30,000 attendees to Houston, Tex. this weekend.

And at the very bottom of the page:

Federal prosecutors named ISNA as an unindicted co-conspirator in their case against the Holy Land Foundation, a group that was convicted of raising millions of dollars for Hamas, a State Department-designated terror organization.

Time for the Muslims to do a reformation. Us Christians used to be pretty bad people and we had our reformation and are pretty mellow these days - we even have milk and cookies. Time for the Muslims to own up to the radical factions that have hijacked their faith and are keeping their people pig ignorant.

And norora

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Went outside a couple of times last night and didn't see anything. K-index was nice and high but nothing showed:

20190902-kindex.gif

Some people would do a mic drop - I guess this is a radio telescope drop.

Just the headline from a Wired article regarding a conversation about AI between Elon Musk and Jack Ma:

Elon Musk: Humanity Is a Kind of 'Biological Boot Loader' for AI

This gives me the a good case of the blue-blind paralytic willies because it hits so close to the mark.

SKYNET? here

Fun music

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Going to have to track down more of this:

Big tip of the hat to Musings from the Chiefio who has two more videos at his site. The last one is really cute.

I also like that first instrument in the video above - the flat one. Looks like a stiff learning curve but nice sound and chromatic as hell...

Submitted without comment - from the London Daily Mail:

Millionaire model agency boss thought to have key information into the Jeffrey Epstein scandal 'has disappeared like a ghost without a trace'
A millionaire model agency boss who is thought to have key information about the Jeffrey Epstein scandal 'has disappeared like a ghost without a trace'.

Jean-Luc Brunel, 72, has vanished as police seek to ask the Frenchman 'urgent' questions about the paedophile.

More at the site.

Get woke, go broke

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I wonder how long these videos are going to be up. Looks like the House of Dior planted their stiletto heels on a lot of SJW's little crotchal areas and they are howling in outrage... outrage I tell you...

Hey - Johnny Depp playing air guitar. Nice visuals. Not into fashion so not my circus, not my monkeys.

It will be interesting to see their 4th quarter returns.

Aaaaand back home again

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Dropped off the unit. Had a nice dinner and then out for two pints.

Still looking good for aurora borealis tonight so will be checking outside in an hour or so. Very nice that the moon is just past New with only 11% of the lunar disk showing. Not a lot of light to drown out the aurora. Skies are cloudy but there are breaks so hopeful.

Heading out now

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Changed my mind and will return that unit today instead of waiting for Tuesday. It is up near my favorite Chinese buffet restaurant and I have not eaten there for a while. Stop by another local (Conway Boxcar) for a beer on the way home.

Got a meeting on Wednesday (general public meeting for the group of which I am Vice President so need to be there) so spending the next couple of days down here. And yes, I like to torture grammar until it squeals.

Look up tonight

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Chance for aurora borealis - the Planetary K-index is above 6

20190901-kindex.gif

And from NASA's Spaceweather:

G2-CLASS GEOMAGNETIC STORM--UNDERWAY NOW: A stream of high-speed solar wind is lashing Earth's magnetic field, blowing at speeds near 700 km/s. This is sparking geomagnetic storms around the poles. At the moment, G2-class storm is underway. If this storm persists until nightfall, sky watchers in the USA as far south as WisconsinMichigan and Montana could see Northern Lights. Aurora alerts: SMS Text.

We live on an interesting planet. Love it here!

Working at home today

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Picked up the wrong thing the other day. Right idea but not the droid I was looking for. Ordered the right one online but it will be a few days for delivery. Drive up Tuesday to return it. Good thing that I have so many projects stacked up - switch to another one...

Turned into another hot day - started off cloudy with showers but the sun came out around noon and it warmed up from mid-70's to almost 90. Been doing that a lot the last two weeks.

Taking a break - time to head downstairs to sort all the laundry I did a couple days ago...

From Canada's Global News:

City of Edmonton declares climate emergency
Edmonton city council officially declared a climate emergency on Tuesday.

Ten councillors voted in favour of making the declaration, while also paving the way for actionable steps to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in Edmonton.

Council passed two resolutions Tuesday: a plan to respond to climate change – with a revised Community Energy Transition Strategy – and the climate emergency declaration.

“This is a response to science first and foremost,” Mayor Don Iveson said. “I’m very comfortable in taking an evidence-based approach to this policy question.

Hey Mayor Iveson, which science are you talking about?
The computer model forecasts or the actual boots-on-the-ground collected data? There is a big difference...

Hate to think of what this will do to their economy.

Hurricane Dorian

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A look at Mayor Pete's home town

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Don Surber quotes a New York Times article about Mayor and Presidential candidate Pete Buttigieg 

Buttigieg alienated black voters
The New York Times was dismayed to learn that people in South Bend, Indiana, expect their mayor, presidential candidate Pete Buttigieg to do his job. Crime is up. Homicides rose 30% in his seven years as mayor. And his police force is getting whiter while his city is getting blacker.

The Times reported, "Policing problems in South Bend came to national attention on June 16, when a white sergeant fatally shot a 54-year-old black resident, Eric Logan. The officer’s body camera was not turned on, which was widely seen as a sign of lax standards in the department. Mr. Buttigieg found himself flying home again, regularly, to face the fury of some black citizens and the frustrations of many others.

A telling number:

26% of his town is black.

6% of his police force is black.

The Times reported, "On another front, minority police hiring, South Bend under Mr. Buttigieg took a step in reverse. There are now just 15 black officers in the police department, down from 29 in 2012, according to city data and local news reports."

Mayor Pete is the incarnation of the Peter Principle:

The Peter principle is a concept in management theory formulated by Laurence J. Peter in which the selection of a candidate for a position is based on the candidate's performance in their current role, rather than on abilities relevant to the intended role. Thus, employees only stop being promoted once they can no longer perform effectively, and "managers rise to the level of their incompetence."

That's our boy!

Out of here for a bit

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Coffee &c.

Happy 50th birthday - the ATM

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From FOX News:

90-year-old inventor of the ATM celebrates its 50th birthday, admits wife has never used one
It was a cool Friday afternoon in 1968 and businessman Donald Wetzel needed money to travel before the end of the weekend.

The then-40-year-old examined the long line snaking through the bank and out the door, the clock was etching close to 5 o’clock, and his agitation was only growing.

“So much of what they were doing was withdrawals, and it struck me as I was standing in line, that there ought to be a machine that could do that,” Wetzel, who is 90, told Fox News. “And something that didn’t need the bank to be open – customers could get money 24 hours, seven days a week. I thought it would be marketable, and it turns out it was.”

And so the idea for the Automated Teller Machine, better known as the ATM, was born – and would radically change the way people all over the world conducted bank transactions, and how every financial institution functioned.

First one went live September 2nd, 1969

Move 'em out - Florida

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They are evacuating. From the Orlando Sentinal:

Brevard County to begin mandatory evacuations this weekend
Brevard County will begin mandatory evacuations this weekend as officials and residents brace for Hurricane Dorian’s arrival.

Homes in the county’s barrier islands and other flood-prone areas and residents living in manufactured or mobile homes are told to leave the area 8 a.m. Sunday, Sheriff Wayne Ivey said in a video posted to Facebook.

“While I know that no one likes to leave their home, I really believe in my heart that given the current forecast, this is the best course of action to take to keep everyone absolutely safe,” Sheriff Wayne Ivey said.

Be safe. You can always rebuild.

Life in the North (Korea)

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Looks like they have a bumper crop this year - from the Daily NK:

Middle school students in North Korea mobilized to harvest opium resin
The Workers’ Party of Korea (WPK) continues to cultivate large opium fields in the northern region of North Korea and recently mobilized school students to harvest the crop, according to sources inside the country.

“Most of the students were middle schoolers aged from 14 to 15 years old,” said a South Pyongan Province-based source. “The students collected the resin from the crops on orders from party and school officials at the farm, and also helped dry out the opium to produce opium powder.”

Poppy plants normally bloom in June and July, yielding fruit. Farmers must extract resin from the unripened fruit before they fully ripen in September in order to produce opium.

And why are they growing this?

As part of efforts during the 1980s to earn foreign currency, North Korea built an immense opium farm called Paekdoraji in the northern region of the country sprawling over the two Hamgyong provinces, Jagang Province and Ryanggang Province. A considerable workforce is needed to collect the opium resin and so the North Korean authorities appear to have resorted to mobilizing students in their teens.

Selling heroin overseas to make hard currency. Nice people. Wonder if they are selling fentanyl too...

Entitled little children - the royals

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Christ on a Corn Dog - these people. From the London Daily Mail:

Meghan and Harry 'speed up plans to leave Britain and consider Los Angeles' in snub to Prince Charles plans for an estate in Herefordshire
Friends of the Duke and Duchess of Sussex fear the pair have accelerated plans to leave Britain – after apparently snubbing Prince Charles’s plans for them to take on an estate in Herefordshire.

Land had been earmarked for Harry as part of a long-standing scheme by the Prince of Wales to help his son create a country estate for his family near the Welsh Borders.

But his second son has so far shown little interest in making the move, raising fears among friends that the couple may be preparing to head abroad – with LA high on the list of possibilities.

Sheesh. What part of "Royal Family" do you fail to grasp? Do you comprehend the word "responsibility" at all?

One of the comments nails it perfectly:

The only connections to the monarchy Meghan is interested in are the title she now has, the use of Harry as her source for the title, and as access to the First National Bank of Windsor, and using him as the platform to launch and now maintain her worldwide fame, status, and privilege. She had Archie to use as a secondary bargaining chip for the future. The next child will be her spare bargaining chip. The citizenry who fund this dumpster fire are of no use to her. She never planned to live in the UK after she rushed Harry down the aisle. This narcissistic woman plays the long game. After all, she spent two years stalking Harry and worming her way into his social circle to get where she is today.

Thank God they have Prince William in line. He is of Royal blood and acts the part.

A Vegan diet

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Totally bad for you. Now, with even more bad news. From the London Daily Mail:

Trendy vegan diets could LOWER IQ due to lack of a nutrient that is critical to brain health, leading nutritionist warns
Trendy vegan diets could be putting the IQ of the next generation at risk, a leading nutritionist has warned.

Dr Emma Derbyshire said the growing fad for 'plant-based' diets risks creating mass deficiency in choline – a dietary nutrient that is critical to brain development.

Choline, found in meat, fish, eggs and dairy products, is particularly important in pregnancy, when it contributes to the healthy growth of a baby's brain.

Dr Derbyshire, writing in the BMJ Nutrition, Prevention & Health journal, warned of the 'unintended consequences' of moving away from diets based on meat and dairy.

A bit more:

She added: 'We are at risk of dumbing down the brain power of the next generation. Plant-based diets are great and brilliant for the environment.

'But in terms of reducing intake of choline - which is vital for foetal brain development - no-one had given it much thought.

'The train is moving so fast, and more people are ditching meat and eggs. But it could leave many women of childbearing age deficient in this key nutrient.'

But if you have been eating vegan for a few years, you are already dumbed down to where the importance of this does not register to you.

I once managed a bakery for a couple years (long story) and we had a vegan customer. I always paid attention to my customer's dietary needs (have a few myself) and one day, XXX came to me and said that the pastry they had the other day was so wonderful. It gave him energy and made him feel so good. I checked with the wait staff and it turns out that what he ate the other day had a lot of butter in it - about a half-ounce. Did not have the heart to tell him that. He still lives in the area and still looks like crap - sallow skin, greasy stringy hair and shambles when he walks. I think he is in his 30's but he acts like he is 50.

Some shellfish issues

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Algae bloom - from the local newspaper:

Biotoxin closes shellfish harvest throughout Skagit County
Due to the growing presence of a marine biotoxin, shellfish harvest is closed throughout Skagit County.

Skagit County Public Health on Thursday announced a closure of all recreational shellfish harvest in the county due to potentially dangerous levels of the marine biotoxin that can cause paralytic shellfish poisoning found in shellfish samples taken from area beaches.

The biotoxin is produced by a type of algae found in marine water and that tends to bloom in the region during the summer.

A seasonal problem and not linked to any pollution or human causes.

Trying to outrun a pyroclastic flow

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Short but intense:

From the YouTube description:

Boat outracing Stromboli volcano eruption (August 28, 2019)
This is wild - boat fleeing from the eruption of the Stromboli volcano in Italy (08/28/19). A giant explosion from an Italian volcano sent locals and tourists running for cover.

It is obvious that they survived (otherwise, no video) but still... Need some new underwear.

The ultimate cheat sheet for business

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Great list of 100 rules for running a business. From James Altucher writing at Quora:

The Ultimate Cheat Sheet For Starting And Running A Business
No joke. This is going be a bullet FAQ on starting a business. If you're a lawyer, feel free to disagree with me so you can charge someone your BS fees to give the same advice.

If you can think of anything to add, please do so. I might be missing things. If you want to argue with me, feel free. I might be wrong on any of the items below.

There are many types of business. Depending on your business, some of these won't apply. All of these questions come from questions I've been asked.

The rules are: I'm going to give no explanations. Just listen to me.

    1. C Corp or S Corp or LLC? C-Corp.
    2. What state should you incorporate in? Delaware.
    3. Should founders vest? Yes, over a period of four years. On any change of control the vesting speeds up.
    4. Should you go for venture capital money? First build a product, then get a customer, then get friends and family money (or money from revenues which is cheapest of all) and then think about raising money, But only then. Don't be an amateur.
    5. Should you patent your idea? Get customers first. Patent later. Don't talk to lawyers until the last possible moment.
    6. Should you require venture capitalists to sign NDAs? No. Nobody is going to steal your idea.
    7. How much equity should you give a partner?
    8. Divide things up into these categories: manage the company, raise the money, had the idea, brings in the revenues, built the product (or performs the services). Divide up in equal portions.
    9. Should you have a technical co-founder if you are not technical? No. If you don't already have a technical cofounder you can always outsource technology and not give up equity.
    10. Should you barter equity for services? No. You get what you pay for.
    11.  How do you market your app? Friends and then word of mouth.

Excellent advice from a master. 90 more at the site.

Yikes - hurricane Dorian

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How fast things can change. Tropical storm Dorian was forecast to be a weak storm. Now, hurricane Dorian is Cat 5 - the maximum. From AccuWeather:

Hurricane Dorian closes in on Bahamas with 200-mph wind gusts
Hurricane Dorian continued tracking toward the Bahamas early Sunday, as it strengthened to a catastrophic Category 5 hurricane. President Trump warns it could be among 'strongest' to hit in decades.

As of early Sunday morning, Dorian was located about 35 miles east of Great Abaco Island in the Bahamas. The powerful Category 5 hurricane had top sustained winds of 160 mph.

"Conditions across Abaco Island, as well as Grand Bahama Island are expected to rapidly deteriorate Sunday as Dorian continues its track west," AccuWeather Meteorologist Brandon Buckingham said.

Since 1851 the Treasure Cay area in the Abacos Bahamas has experienced three major hurricanes, all of which were Category 3 hurricanes, according to the NWS Charleston. Dorian, currently a Category 5, would be the strongest by far to affect the area. Hurricane Andrew in 1992 is the only Category 5 hurricane to pass through the Bahamas.

And the cone of doom:

20190901-cone.jpg

Looks like a fun labor day for the East coast. Prayers going out...

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