March 2021 Archives

And goodnight to all

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Nothing much out there.  That Florida politician with the 17 year old lover might be a real story or it might be yet another example of our media at work.

Busy day tomorrow.  Still hating on the chicklet keyboards here - bringing my own up next time.

China is asshoe - the Philippines

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I wrote about the Chinese ships near the Philippines about a week ago.
Looks like they are ramping up - from gCaptain:

Philippines Says Chinese ‘Militia’ Fleet Has Spread in Disputed Waters
Hundreds of Chinese vessels believed to be manned by militias in the South China Sea have spread to a wider area, the Philippines said on Wednesday, defying its demand for the flotilla to be withdrawn immediately.

The Philippines has described the presence of the boats inside its 200-mile exclusive economic zone at Whitsun Reef as “swarming and threatening,” while Canada, Australia, the United States, Japan and others have voiced concern about China’s intentions, prompting rebukes by Beijing.

Chinese diplomats have said the boats were sheltering from rough seas and no militia were aboard.

The USA is the only Nation that could put a stop to this.  And we are saddled with a flaccid *Resident and a corrupt government. Oh Joy.

Time to start learning Mandarin.

And gone to ground

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Stopped off at Hal's Drive-In for a burger, fries and shake.
One of the better places out there - very old school.

Unpack the van, a bit of a surf, take the dogs for a walk, watch some videos and that will be it.  Meeting with the HVAC people tomorrow morning at 9:00 AM and my coffee place is eight miles away. Can't not have that now can we.
Priorities.

And outta here

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Packed up and ready to go.

Stop by the post office and bank on the way out - Thai dinner on the road. Surf a little bit tonight and back home tomorrow afternoon.

Some suggestions from J. P.

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Bummer - auction

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Didn't win anything.  The Matsuura went for $400 - still a screamin' deal. Wish I had the space for it. Sweet machine.

Lunch, surf for a bit and get ready to head up North.  Meeting with the HVAC people tomorrow morning at the farm.

Now this will be interesting

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Some big money in back of it.  A new social media site: Frank

See how much is hardware and how much is hype...

And out the door

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Working this morning and heading back to the farm this evening. Busy day.

The auction closes today - I was outbid on most of what I was interested in.  Upping my bid on a few items - we will see. The Matsuura is still tempting me with its wiles.  Still at $30. Oh well...

Great observation

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Something people need to take to heart.

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The name is Elizabeth Johnston but I can not find anything else from her.
I'll keep looking - this one was spot on.

Oops - a bug.

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A big bug. One that affects most computers that are connected to a network.  Yes, you read that right:
A big bug. One that affects most computers that are connected to a network.  An example:

Open a terminal window.  In Windows, this is known as the Command Prompt.  Hit the Windows key and type CMD.
Type the following: "ping 127.0.0.1" - here is what you will see:

Microsoft Windows [Version 10.0.19041.867]
(c) 2020 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved.

C:\Users\DaveH>ping 127.0.0.1

Pinging 127.0.0.1 with 32 bytes of data:
Reply from 127.0.0.1: bytes=32 time<1ms TTL=128
Reply from 127.0.0.1: bytes=32 time<1ms TTL=128
Reply from 127.0.0.1: bytes=32 time<1ms TTL=128
Reply from 127.0.0.1: bytes=32 time<1ms TTL=128

Ping statistics for 127.0.0.1:
Packets: Sent = 4, Received = 4, Lost = 0 (0% loss),
Approximate round trip times in milli-seconds:
Minimum = 0ms, Maximum = 0ms, Average = 0ms

C:\Users\DaveH>

All well and good. Now, try typing the following:  "ping 0127.0.0.1" - here is what you will see:

Microsoft Windows [Version 10.0.19041.867]
(c) 2020 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved.

C:\Users\DaveH>ping 0127.0.0.1

Pinging 87.0.0.1 with 32 bytes of data:
Request timed out.
Request timed out.
Request timed out.
Request timed out.

Ping statistics for 87.0.0.1:
Packets: Sent = 4, Received = 0, Lost = 4 (100% loss),

C:\Users\DaveH>

WTF???   From Bleeping Computer:

Critical netmask networking bug impacts thousands of applications
Popular npm library netmask has a critical networking vulnerability.

netmask is frequently used by hundreds of thousands of applications to parse IPv4 addresses and CIDR blocks or compare them.

The component gets over 3 million weekly downloads, and as of today, has scored over 238 million total downloads over its lifetime. Further, about 278,000 GitHub repositories depend on netmask.

The bug present in the library means when parsing an IP address with a leading zero, netmask sees a different IP due to improper validations in place.

The leading zero ( 0127.0. instead of 127.0. ) causes the IP Address to be read as an octal number instead of a decimal number. Hence: 127dec = 87oct

Geek joke: Why are Halloween and Christmas the same date? Because 31oct=25dec

Pity that to everyone else, they look like clueless idiots. From FOX News:

Oxford music professors deem sheet music 'colonialist,' say curriculum needs to be 'decolonized'
Staff members within the University of Oxford’s music department have deemed sheet music "colonialist" and have suggested ways to "decolonize" the curriculum.

Professors said that music notation has not "shaken off its connection to its colonial past" and that not rebranding it would be a "slap in the face" for students of color, according to documents reviewed by the British outlet The Telegraph.

The story at The Telegraph is behind a pop-up that I cannot clear. It says that I am running an ad blocker but I am not. I am running this HOSTS file which is kinda the same but much much better. You should look at it yourself. Speeds up browsing a lot. Anyway...

The same faculty also reportedly questioned whether the current curriculum was complicit in "white supremacy," pointing to the program’s focus on "white European music from the slave period" – composers like Mozart and Beethoven.

Good God. Unreal. More:

The faculty members said the curriculum should broaden its music offerings with studies like "African and African Diasporic Musics," "Global Musics," and "Popular Musics."

Oxford’s music curriculum already offers non-Eurocentric course options, but the professors who proposed these changes said the school’s nearly "all-white faculty" gives "privilege to white musicians" by default.

The proposed changes appeared to have driven in response to the Black Lives Matter movement.

In other words, the Bitter Little Marxists are trying to force their reach into the institutions. Pollute the next generation's ability to think clearly. Someone needs to call Campus Security.

From Seattle station KING-5:

Skyrocketing lumber prices drive up homebuilding costs in Washington
Anyone buying lumber these days is in for sticker shock. Prices are at unprecedented levels, and it's affecting everyone from people planning home construction projects to home builders, like Landed Gentry Homes.

The Skagit Valley home builder has never seen lumber prices skyrocket like this before.

The price of lumber has gone up 188% since the beginning of the pandemic, adding at least $24,000 to the price of a new single-family home, according to the National Association of Home Builders.

Landed Gentry is building a 60-house development.  The contracts have already been signed so they are locked in to what they can bill. Sucks.

The word of the day: vaxhole

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From Urban Dictionary:

vaxhole
A person who intentionally gloats or brags about their vaccination status in order to signal to others their moral superiority. Individuals who display this characteristic have a propensity to also display narcissism.
That customer came up to me and rambled on for five minutes about how they just got the covid vaccine and how important it is and how people who don't get it are evil. What a vaxhole.

Auction preview

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Really wish I had a 40X100 shop instead of a 20X40.  I was really interested in this older CNC Mill and it is still going for only $30 but...  I looked at it and the thing is a lot bigger than I gathered from the photo.  Its footprint is about 15X12.  It would take up almost 1/4 of my new shop. If it was 6X10, I would have bid then and there. Oh well...

I did bid on a couple pieces of measurement equipment - indicators, some gauges, etc... but that will be it.  Prices are all insanely low for the large stuff and insanely high for the cheap crap. There was a nice Rockwell Hardness tester which would be awesome for dialing in metal tempering but it is bidding right where it should be and above what I can afford.  I have some calibrated test files that work fine - no need to get fancy. And again, need to keep an eye on the floor space.

That ship

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I know - old news.  Four more memes - probably the last:

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Because the asylums are cruel. Only problem, the streets are a lot crueler.

From Christopher F. Rufo writing at the excellent City Journal:

The Invisible Asylum
Olympia, Washington, is a microcosm of the problems created by the emptying of mental hospitals.
The story of American deinstitutionalization has become familiar. In a long arc—from President Kennedy’s Community Mental Health Act of 1963 to the present—federal and state governments dismantled mental asylums and released the psychiatrically disturbed into the world. Though there were sometimes brutal abuses in the state mental hospitals of the early twentieth century, the closure of the asylums did not put an end to mental illness. If anything, with the proliferation on the streets of psychosis-inducing drugs such as methamphetamine, the United States has more cases of serious mental illness than ever before—and less capacity to treat and manage them.

The question now is not, “What happened to the asylums?” but “What replaced them?” Following the mass closure of state hospitals and the establishment of a legal regime that dramatically restricted involuntary commitments, we have created an “invisible asylum” composed of three primary institutions: the street, the jail, and the emergency room. In slaying the old monster of the state asylums, we created a new monster in its shadow: one that maintains the appearance of freedom but condemns a large population of the mentally ill to a life of misery.

I’ve spent the better part of two years looking at this invisible asylum in West Coast cities. In major metropolitan areas such as Los Angeles, San Francisco, and Seattle, the scale of mass psychosis is overwhelming, and the inadequacy of the public response is self-evident. It’s difficult, if not impossible, to imagine how public officials could “solve” the problem of mental illness in these places, which are home to tens of thousands of individuals suffering from the “perilous trifecta” of mental illness, addiction, and homelessness. By contrast, the contours of the problem are much more intelligible, even manageable, in smaller cities and towns.

Olympia, Washington—a city of 52,000 tucked between a joint military base and a state forest—is one such place. In Olympia, approximately 250 individuals have become entangled within this broken system of care, cycling through the streets, the local jails, and the emergency ward at Providence St. Peter Hospital. A half-century ago, many, if not most, of these wayward souls would have been institutionalized. In 1962, Washington State had 7,641 state hospital beds for a total population of 2.9 million; today, it has 1,123 state hospital beds for a population of 7.6 million—a 94 percent per-capita reduction.

Much more at the site - a very well-written examination. Olympia is the WA State Capitol and is its own sort of special.  It is also home to far-left Evergreen State College. For more on that august institution of higher learning: here, here, here, here, here, here and here for starters.

When liberal Seattle weekly The Stranger says that Evergreen: Evergreen Ranks as One of the Worst Colleges in the U.S. for Free Speech, you have to know that something is very rotten at its core. 

I have written about the Community Mental Health Act and its fallout several times before.

Sometimes, the old ways are the best.  This whole failure was started by activists.  We need to remember this quote:

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Activists are just people who have learned how to use the media to their own ends.  They are not "more" correct.  They are not in the majority. They are not smarter. They are just loud.

From Don Surber:

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Outta here for a while

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Dog walk, coffee, read for a little bit and then down to the auction preview.

Back home for paperwork. Joy.

Recently moved all my money out of stocks (Vanguard index funds) and back into Bonds.
Good timing - from Russia Today:

Global banks bracing for losses amid US hedge fund collapse
World banks may lose over $6 billion from the downfall of the US investment firm Archegos Capital, sources told Reuters. Regulators are closely monitoring the situation as panic spreads about the possible scale of the fallout.

The sudden liquidation of the New York-based billionaire Bill Hwang’s Archegos Capital Management ignited a fire sale of more than $20 billion in assets that has left some of the world’s biggest investment banks bearing billions of dollars of losses.

According to billionaire investor Mike Novogratz, the collapse of Hwang’s Archegos fund could turn out to be “the most spectacular personal loss of wealth in history.”

The problems started last week when a disappointing stock sale by media giant ViacomCBS triggered devastating bank margin calls for Archegos, three people familiar with the matter said. Shares in ViacomCBS plummeted 23% last Wednesday after the media company sold shares at a price that diluted its value. The shares continued to decline, setting off alarm bells at Archegos’ prime brokers and prompting them to offload stock in all of Archegos’ investments.

Just love love LOVE that last paragraph. ViacomCBS owns Paramount Pictures, CBS, Nickelodeon, Miramax, BET, MTV, Showtime. Looks like people are not into "big media" very much these days.  Maybe, just maybe if they produced something that we wanted to watch... Not watching WOKE TV - that is for sure.

From Climate Change Dispatch:

It’s Official: Greenland Hasn’t Warmed Since 2001
A new study (Hanna et al., 2021) affirms a significant warming trend occurred in the late 20th century across Greenland, mirroring the warming that occurred in the early 20th century.

Since 2001, the temperature trends across Greenland have stopped rising and begun cooling.

A temperature pattern has been emerging in Greenland during the last few decades that does not align with alarming proclamations of catastrophic ice sheet melt from accelerated warming.

After significant summer (winter) warming of about 2°C (to 4°C) from the 1980s to 2000, Greenland’s warming trend has plateaued and, since 2012, a cooling trend has commenced.

Much more at the site - links to actual data instead of computer models. Everything points to a cooling period.

Start preparing - NOW.

A day off... Lots to do

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Spent the morning cleaning the kitchen and doing some computer work. Heading out pretty soon for dog walk and coffee and then down to this auction preview. I may be actually bidding on some things. There is a surface grinder listed "for parts" but see how it is.  A lot of dial indicators, measurement tools, guage blocks that are so far, priced very reasonably.  Still tempted by that Matsuura - it is now up to $30 from $10 last night...  Hmmm...  But no place to store it.

Back to work tomorrow - center and then grocery deliveries.

Stormy weather - really stormy

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It was pretty stormy around here last Sunday and Monday.  How stormy?
How about sustained winds of 100 MPH for over 15 hours.  From Cliff Mass:

143 mph in the Cascades, Snowflakes in the Lowlands, and Strong Winds: A Very Powerful Cold Front Crosses the Region
A powerful cold front moved through the region yesterday.

At Camp Muir at 10,000 ft winds gusted to 143 mph, with winds over 100 mph for 15 hours. Amazing.

Ho. Li. Crap. That is powerful. Been up to Camp Muir a couple of times by myself and summited Rainier twice.
I love the ocean but the mountains have their call as well.

A morning for memes

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Here are two from Woodsterman:

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Got a point there - BillG

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And that's it - lights out shortly

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Did not sleep well last night - different place, different bed.  Managed to not take a nap this afternoon so nice and sleepy - sleep in tomorrow and head down to this auction preview.  Some good prices on this one (so far) - lots of tooling.  Not picked over like the last one.

This is a an example of the screamin' deals - $10 for good solid bones.  I would rip out all the control electronics, redo the bearings and leadscrews and run it off a PC running MACH4. Total investment of about $4K for a solid performer. New modern machines are in the $100K range so yes, a great deal.  I would bid if I had the space for it now.

Lots of measurement stuff - guage blocks, calipers, mikes.  Mitutoyo, Starrett, Brown and Sharpe.  Good brands.

Watch some videos and crawl into a nice warm bed.

Unintended consequences - face masks

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A scientific communication and a couple more links:

From the Frontiers of Environmental Science & Engineering comes this communication:

Preventing masks from becoming the next plastic problem
Face masks help prevent the spread of coronavirus and other diseases, and mass masking is recommended by almost all health groups and countries to control the COVID-19 pandemic (Brooks et al., 2020). Recent studies estimated an astounding 129 billion face masks being used globally every month (3 million / minute) and most are disposable face masks made from plastic microfibers (Prata et al., 2020). With increasing reports on inappropriate disposal of masks, it is urgent to recognize this potential environmental threat and prevent it from becoming the next plastic problem.

It is real. It is happening. Photos at this site: The effects of COVID-19 litter on animal life

More on that website here: PPE waste kills animals throughout the entire world

And here: More than 1.5 billion face masks will pollute oceans this year, report says

Such harm from something that does not do any good.  It makes people feel virtuous and is an outward and physical display of their inward and spiritual desire to conform to an authoritarian figure. The outcome of our public school system aided by our complicit media. You are sheep.  We will protect you. You need to be guided.  Nudged.
It is for your own good. Really. Trust us.

Some people enjoy being meddlesome - it makes them feel righteous and better than those poor people.
Let my wisdom guide you into the light.

Two realities - Wuhan Flu

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Reminds me of that saying (two more at the site):

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

Same thing in politics - two headlines:

One of these is based in reality.  Guess which one.

Suez - back to normal; Two memes

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The Ever Given is no longer stuck and shipping has been resumed.  From gCaptain:

Ever Given Freed Allowing Shipping to Resume Through Suez Canal
Shipping was on the move again late on Monday in Egypt’s Suez Canal after tugs refloated a giant container ship which had been blocking the channel for almost a week, causing a huge build-up of vessels around the waterway.

After the 400-meter-long (430-yard) Ever Given was dislodged, 113 ships were expected to transit the canal in both directions by early Tuesday morning, Suez Canal Authority (SCA) chairman Osama Rabie told reporters.

He said a backlog of 422 ships could be cleared in 3 -1/2 days.

And the memes keep coming - here are two:

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Heh - I'd get one of the Ikea doorstops if they were available.  Cute.

From CNN:

After two months in office, Kamala Harris is still living out of suitcases -- and she's getting frustrated with it
It has been more than two months since Kamala Harris was sworn in as vice president of the United States, a historic moment for the country, as Harris is the first woman and the first woman of color to hold the second highest office in the land. Yet, Harris -- along with her husband, Georgetown Law professor Douglas Emhoff -- is still, ostensibly, living out of suitcases, unable to move into the private residence reserved for the vice president because it's still undergoing renovations.

It's unclear why the renovations are taking so long, said one administration official, but it's a situation that has left Harris increasingly and understandably bothered, according to several people who spoke to CNN about her situation. "She is getting frustrated," said another administration official, noting with each passing day the desire to move in to her designated house -- a stately, turreted mansion two-and-a-half miles from the White House -- grows more intense.

The second couple continues to live in temporary housing at Blair House, the President's official guest quarters, just across Pennsylvania Avenue from the White House.

Awww...  Hey Kamala - the job you applied for and the job you were handed was to serve the citizens of the United States.  You are not royalty. You are not our queen. You are our employee and it is time that you and *Resident Joe started acting like that. Also, you might want to brush up on our founding documents - you seem to be unaware of many aspects of them.  Start here.

Harbinger of spring - SR-20

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One of the harbingers of spring showed up today - this announcement from the WA State Department of Transportation:

Spring clearing of SR 20 North Cascades Highway starts April 5
A telltale sign of spring in the Pacific Northwest is the clearing of State Route 20 North Cascades Highway between the Methow and Skagit valleys, and this year’s reopening work is scheduled to start April 5.

Depending on weather conditions, reopening usually takes about 4 to 6 weeks.

More snow than usual
The pass closes every year in late November or early December based on snow conditions. Dozens of avalanche paths cross the highway, making it too dangerous to keep the highway open through the winter. In 2020, the North Cascades closed on Nov. 13. Our maintenance and avalanche control crews assess snow levels and avalanche conditions in early spring to determine a date to begin reopening work.

This year’s snow levels were slightly higher than average and the Liberty Bell avalanche chutes still hold a substantial amount of snow. This presents a potential safety hazard for reopening crews, so allowing for additional melt off makes more manageable and safer conditions for workers.

Snow level higher than average?  Sounds like global warming to me...

Back home for now

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Heading up again in a few days - progress is good...

Next time, I'm bringing a keyboard of my own. The chicklet keyboards are horrible - grew up with typewriters and the ne plus ultra was the IBM Selectric. Still have two of them for reasons.  Not saying why, just reasons... D. is going to be fantastic for this project - she was an employee for another of my businesses and am really happy to have her working for me again. Smart and 110% trustworthy.

Quick surf and then putter around the house - need to get some paperwork scanned and emailed.

And out for the day

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Heading out for walkies and coffee - meeting my friend later this morning.  Minimal posting until much later today.

From gCaptain:

Ever Given Salvage Successful – Statement from the Salvage Company
The MV Ever Given has been succssfully refloated in the Suez Canal and the ship is currently under tow to Great Bitter Lakes, where awaiting vessels are expected to continue their southbound transit. Below is the full statement from Boskalis, parent company of the SMIT Salvage, the appointed salvor in the operation:

Grounded container vessel Ever Given successfully refloated in the Suez Canal by expert salvage team of Boskalis subsidiary SMIT Salvage
Boskalis announces the successful salvage operation of the grounded 20,000 TEU container vessel Ever Given in the Suez Canal. With a length of 400 meters and a width of nearly 60 meters this giant ship had been wedged in this vital shipping route since 23 March 2021 blocking all shipping traffic ever since.

Peter Berdowski, CEO Boskalis: “Shortly following the grounding of the Ever Given we were requested through SMIT Salvage to provide assistance with the salvage operation. I am excited to announce that our team of experts, working in close collaboration with the Suez Canal Authority, successfully refloated the Ever Given on 29 March at 15:05 hrs local time, thereby making free passage through the Suez Canal possible again. I’m extremely proud of the outstanding job done by the team on site as well as the many SMIT Salvage and Boskalis colleagues back home to complete this challenging operation under the watchful eye of the world. The time pressure to complete this operation was evident and unprecedented and the result is a true display of our unique capabilities as a dredging and marine services provider.”

As everyone breathes a big sigh of relief and some people prepare to write a very large check to Boskalis. Job well done.

Some people thought it a good idea. Reality has a different opinion.
From the Los Angeles Metro website:

Here are the two motions approved by Metro Board on Thursday as part of law enforcement contract increase
The Metro Board of Directors on Thursday approved a $36-million increase to Metro’s five-year law enforcement contract with the Los Angeles Police Department, Long Beach Police Department and the Los Angeles Sheriff’s Department to cover additional costs through Dec. 31 of this year.

A screen-cap of the full document is at the website.  It is hard to run a big city. Even harder when your hands are tied behind your backs by social ninnies trying their latest "engineering" idea. Where do they get these? The back of a cereal box?

At the farm (almost)

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Crashing at the store office tonight - the water was turned off at the farm because of the cold weather. Pipes freezing are not a good thing.

House is in good shape - D. and I will be meeting up tomorrow to go over what she needs to do. Should be fun - like I said, she worked for me before. Good trustworthy person and fun to be around.

Missing my keyboard - the office people like the "chicklet" style keyboards and I am a traditionalist going for the 103-key clicky keyboards.  My typing is horrible.

Heading out for a bite to eat and spending the rest of the night surfing and watching videos.

Out the door - points North

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But first, two memes from Knuckledraggin'

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That first one is so true - Grace had a tender stomach and used to do this every couple of months.
Would wake me up in a heartbeat.

And yes, I am buying/forging/counterfieting the second if needed.

Yet another slow news day

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Sigh...  Nothing catches my eye.

Out for dog walk and coffee and then points North for two days. Taking the laptop of course.

Looks like we are in for a spell of weather. From Cliff Mass:

A Powerful Front Will Cross Washington Bringing Strong Winds and Snow in the Mountains (A Perhaps Some Flakes to the Lowlands)
A powerful Pacific front is bearing down on Washington State, reaching the coast tomorrow morning.

Behind the front is unusually cool air for late March, cold enough to bring snowflakes to the higher hills of the region, and bountiful snow in the mountains. And there will be winds.

The predicted surface weather maps provide the story (below). These maps show sea level pressure, temperature (color shading, blue is cold, yellow is warmer), and near-surface winds.

The first weather map, valid for 8 AM Sunday morning, shows the front (red line) offshore. That front is in a region lower pressure (a pressure trough) and you will note much cooler (bluer) air behind. Also, note the large north-south pressure difference across western Washington...that means winds.

More at the site - looks big. Hunkering down.  Still planning to drive up to the farm later today but it is not going to be the sunny weather that was being forecast a few days ago. Meeting up with D. tomorrow - it will be fun to catch up.

Forecast was spot-on

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Woke up a couple hours ago to wind and heavy rainfall.

Vancouver, BC has been hit hard - over 12K customers without power. Whatcom County (where I am going later today) has about 200 but none where I will be. The rain has tapered off a bit so heading out for a dog walk, pack the van and head out for coffee.  Planning to head up sometime around 2:00 PM or so.

Having breakfast and a quick surf first...

Stormy weather

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Rain and high winds tomorrow early - heading North to the farm. Monday is supposed to be nice though.

Time for some videos and then exploring the dreamscape a bit more. Sleep in tomorrow morning, dog run, coffee and then hit the road.

Got high clouds scudding across the sky - I can see the rising moon from the window as I write. Gorgeous.
Full (Worm Moon) tomorrow.

Words to live by - Keep it Free

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Something to remember:

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From Mothership:

Truck with 'Evergreen' container blocks highway, goes viral for resembling Suez Canal situation

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A truck carrying an "Evergreen" shipping container is going viral on social media for its marked similarity to the colossal container ship (also emblazoned with "Evergreen") that got stuck in the Suez Canal earlier this week.

The photo appears to be taken from surveillance footage, with text on the image's header stating the location of the incident to be the Changshen Expressway (长深高速), with the date and time of the photo indicated as 9:55am on Mar. 27.

And here's a photo of the Ever Given, a container ship that ran aground in the Suez Canal on Mar. 23:

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Not a good year for Evergreen...  Corporate rebranding in 3... 2... 1...

What crisis? No. No crisis here...

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Newspeak on display at Associated Press.  From FOX News:

Associated Press warns staffers not to call influx at southern border a ‘crisis’ in internal memo
The Associated Press agrees with President Biden’s White House that the situation along the U.S. southern border is not a "crisis," and it instructed staffers not to use the dreaded c-word when reporting thousands of unaccompanied children have attempted to enter the country.

Journalist Julio Ricardo Varela tweeted a series of images from an internal memo the AP distributed warning staffers not to call the situation a crisis. The Associated Press confirmed its authenticity in a statement.

"That is indeed is a memo from AP Vice President and Editor-at-Large for Standards John Daniszewski," an AP spokesperson said to Fox News.

We can't have the proles thinking that *Resident Biden is not fully in charge and running things smoothly. The most transparent administration ever.

Say goodbye to Taiwan

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A sad but probable analysis of what communist China will do during the communist Biden administration.  Too tempting a target and, right now, the USA would do fsck-all if China invaded.  From Don Surber:

Red China eyes Taiwan while our military goes for woke
The Fox headlined succinctly summarized why suddenly, after 250 years of protecting the nation, the U.S. military suddenly is concerned about social justice rather than caring about defending the country.

The headline said, "Marine Corps reservist warns that Biden Pentagon's 'woke' rules and priorities endangering U.S. security."

The last three words speak to the goal of the Democrat Party's insistence that the Pentagon embrace transgenderism. Focusing on social policy rather than military performance endangers U.S. security. Democrats bet that losing the next war will benefit them.

The fall of Saigon led to Jimmah Carter and larger Democrat majorities in Congress.

The premature evacuation of the Gulf War led to Bill Clinton.

Iraq led to Obama.

Why in the world would Democrats want to win a war? They win by losing.

Much more at the site - sad but true. The 2022 and 2024 elections are crucial.

See - the vaccine is perfectly safe

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Clever corvids in the news

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I love corvids.  The name of my Blacksmithing business is Crow Island Forge which is the old name for my little island. Some fun news from the Anchorage, AK Costco - from the Anchorage Daily News:

Anchorage Costco customers say ravens are stealing their groceries in the parking lot
Marnie Jones and her husband made it all the way home from the South Anchorage Costco before they realized they’d been robbed.

“We had bought a four-pack of filet mignon steak,” Jones said. “It was on the bottom of the cart, and he was pushing it through the bumpy snow.”

When they reached their vehicle, the meat slid onto the ground. Her husband turned his back to load groceries before realizing the pack had slipped. When they got home and put everything away, he noticed he was one steak short.

Then, it clicked.

“He said, ‘Oh my God, after I picked up that pack of steaks, I saw a raven in the parking lot with a steak in his mouth,’ " Jones said.

This is organized:

Last month, Matt Lewallen was packing his purchases into his car and lost a single short rib from his cart.

“They know what they’re doing; it’s not their first time,” Lewallen said. “They’re very fat so I think they’ve got a whole system there.”

I love it - they use tools.  They can identify individual people and are very friendly if treated right.  Treat them wrong and you will be dive-bombed whenever they see you.  Like I said, I love corvids. I would be feeding them here at home but the @#$% sky rats seagulls eat the same kinds of food from the same kind of feeder so I stopped.  Planning to have a station at my shop when it gets built.

And gone for the day

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Heading off to work - back this afternoon. Getting a coffee to go on the way and giving the dogs a very short run-around on the grounds when I get there.

Heading North tomorrow to work on some stuff.  An old friend (and employee for a while) needs a place to live. She is a good worker and we are looking at her staying at the farm, getting it ready for sale next spring. Need to make sure everything works so she can move in.

About the border

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There must be an interesting power struggle happening behind the scenes.  They are trying to shift the responsibility for the Southern border fiasco over to Kamala Harris and she is having none of it.  From the Washington Examiner:

Kamala Harris 'is not doing the border,' top aide says
A top aide to Vice President Kamala Harris tempered a White House announcement this week that she would oversee efforts to stem the flow of migrants at the southern border, a politically fraught task amid the growing crisis.

“The vice president is not doing the border,” Harris's senior adviser and chief spokeswoman Symone Sanders told reporters on Friday, adding that the vice president is strictly dealing with the root causes of migration.

So Harris will be dealing with the "root causes" - that term is certainly vague enough to encompass all sorts of nothing. Wonder who they will sucker in to take the fall for the disasterous conditions. There has to be a sacrificial lamb - this was handled so poorly that someone needs to take the blame.  Can't be our *Resident after all...

Spot on - 100%

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From My Pensieve:

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What with today's political climate, this is a handy thing to have around:

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Brooklyn Superhero Supply Co. of course.  Only $14/Gallon.

Sadly, so true

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And not much we can do about it.  I was lamenting earlier this month that 2X4 lumber has almost doubled in cost in six months. This image brings it home:

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The stuck boat - the memes

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Aaaand - the memes:

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And yep - still stuck. There is even a website now:  https://istheshipstillstuck.com/

Still stuck - Suez

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Satellite photo:

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From gCaptain:

Latest Attempt to Refloat Ever Given Unsuccessful as Shipping Rates Surge
The Suez Canal stepped up efforts on Friday to free a giant stuck container ship and end a blockage that has sent shipping rates for fuel tankers soaring and disrupted global supply chains for everything from grains to baby clothes.

Shipping rates for oil product tankers have nearly doubled after the 400-meter (430-yard) long Ever Given ran aground in the vital trade waterway on Tuesday.

Efforts to free it may take weeks and be complicated by unstable weather conditions, threatening costly delays for companies already dealing with COVID-19 restrictions.

Shipping rates?

The blockage could cost global trade $6 billion to 10 billion a week, a study by German insurer Allianz showed on Friday.

Ratings agency Moody’s expects Europe’s manufacturing and car parts suppliers to be most affected because they operate “just-in-time” supply chains.

Petroleum costs are up a bunch too - wonder if this will spur them to build a pipeline. Much cheaper overall.

And I am outta here - working

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Volunteering but same thing - got to be there in one hour.  Really want to crawl back into bed for another couple of hours but...   Could not get to sleep last night - ate too much too late in the evening.

Stuffed

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Made enough for two meals and just kept refilling my bowl.  I'll have to put that recipe on rotation - came out really good.

Ditalini (or other small pasta). When it is a few minutes from al-dente, toss in some green peas.  While the pasta is cooking, prep a shallot and some garlic and thinly slice about a half-pound of smoked brisket or other protein. The smoke was delicious. When the pasta is done, pour out into a strainer. Put a knob of butter in the pan and sauté the alliums until tender and aromatic.  Add a glug or two olive oil and a whole bunch of fresh-ground black pepper.  When the pepper is fragrant, put the pasta/peas back into the pan and stir everything around for a few minutes.  I had a bowl warming in the toaster oven - portion into that, top with fresh parsley (Italian flat-leaf please) and a squeeze of fresh lemon juice. Really yummy, quick to fix and only uses one pan and a strainer plus your bowl. You could eat from the pan. Been there, done that.

Working tomorrow morning so early bedtime - watch some videos and turn in.

Yeah really

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Ever the optimist - Ever Given

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That ship in the Suez. From gCaptain:

Ever Given Could Be Stuck for Weeks; Ship Owner Apologizes For Grounding
A container ship blocking the Suez Canal like a “beached whale” may take weeks to free, the salvage company said, as officials stopped all ships entering the channel on Thursday in a new setback for global trade.

The 400 m (430 yard) Ever Given, almost as long as the Empire State Building is high, is blocking transit in both directions through one of the world’s busiest shipping channels for oil and grain and other trade linking Asia and Europe.

The Suez Canal Authority (SCA) said eight tugs were working to move the vessel, which got stuck diagonally across the single-lane southern stretch of the canal on Tuesday morning amid high winds and a dust storm.

“We can’t exclude it might take weeks, depending on the situation,” Peter Berdowski, CEO of Dutch company Boskalis which is trying to free the ship, told the Dutch television program “Nieuwsuur.”

I am glad that I do not do retail in Europe. The Suez is a component of their primary supply chain and we just discovered what the term: "Single Point of Failure" is all about. I have a generally optimistic outlook on life but I know a bit about Engineering and this is going to take time.  This is not just a matter of yanking on a rope. I would not be surprised if they had to excavate around her or if some structure had to be built for leverage or anchoring.  There is no tide in the Mediterranean Sea to speak of but there is quite the flow in the Gulf of Suez off the Arabian Ocean. Powerful forces in play.

Loving the Abralon

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Geeking out over the new (to me) abrasive. Been using it on the desktop and it is wonderful. Sooo much better than wet/dry emery cloth. It does not load up and the foam backing allows it to glide without digging in and gouging. The foam will stick to the pad of my orbital sander but just hand sanding for now. Rinse out and it is as good as new - no clogging the grit.  Keep using the same pad for much longer. Definitly step up my woodworking game a lot. I do knife handles and wood bases for things I blacksmith so the Abralon pads will be a good thing to keep on hand. (Abralon, Amazon)

Since I needed to keep them wet when sanding, I used a spray bottle with a little drop of laundry detergent - much lower sudsing than with regular hand soap. It lowers the surface tension and allows the water to completely wet the surface. Worked great.

Waiting for a can of paste wax to warm up a bit (it was in the garage). See how the desktop looks when I am finally done with it. Going for a satin finish but deep luster.

Working tomorrow and Saturday but spending a couple more days of leisure next week - getting a lot done here.

From United Press International:

Wright brothers' wing fragment to take flight again on Mars
A piece of cloth from the Wright brothers' first flight in 1903 is set to become part of aviation history again -- this time on Mars.

Carillon Historical Park, the Ohio home of the Wright Brio home of the Wright Brothers National Museum, said NASA officials got in contact in 2019 about finding a way to connect Wilbur and Orville Wright's first successful flight in Kitty Hawk, N.C., with the first heavier-than-air flight on Mars.

The museum provided a small fragment of the Wright Flyer I's wing covering to be carried aboard Ingenuity, a small helicopter attached to the belly of NASA's Perseverance rover on the surface of the red planet.

NASA said Ingenuity is expected to take its first flight sometime after April 8. The flight will mark the first-ever powered, controlled flight of an aircraft on another planet, NASA said.

The use of the Wright Flyer I's wing covering for the mission received the blessing of Amanda Wright Lane and Stephen Wright, Wilbur and Orville's great grand-niece and nephew.

And not the first time:

A fragment from the Wright Flyer I's wing covering was previously carried to the moon by Neil Armstrong in 1969. Another fragment was taken into space by John Glenn during a trip on the space shuttle in 1998.

NASA may be a bloated government bureaucracy but they do have some good people working there.

For a day spent doing fsck-all

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I got a lot done. Taking a break.  Skipped lunch - was at the coffee place reading until after Noon. Nice long walk with the dogs - got them good and tired out, even little puppy Truffle.

Quick surf and then back to work. Ran to the store and mailbox - picked up an order from Walmart and some beef brisket for dinner. Slice thin and serve over some pasta with butter, sauteed shallots and garlic and a sprinkle of parsley and a drizzle of fresh lemon juice.

Turned into a glorious day with more in the forecast. Spot of rain for Sunday but the next five or six days look wonderful.

And the new shop is a go.

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Just got the final bid for all the work I wanted. Came in under what I was expecting.

Heading out now for a dog walk and some coffee - sit and read for a while. Taking today off so putter around the house and do fsck-all.   Much needed...

From Watts Up With That comes a look at the recorded temperature data for Iceland and Greenland.
Warming? Quite the contrary:

Greenland And Iceland Mean Winter Temperatures Continue Cooling Since Start Of The Century
The February 2021 data for Iceland and Greenland are available from the Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA), which means the latest meteorological DJF winter mean temperature can be computed.

Icelandic winters have cooled since 2001
We plotted the JMA data for three stations (the ones with sufficient data) in Iceland. Result: no warming over the past 18 winters!

Lots of numbers and charts and actual data and all that good stuff.  Nary a computer model in sight. Getting colder out there. Sun's activity is quieting down. Prepare for colder temperatures.

Suez? Yep - still stuck

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But of course - Cuomo

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I would expect nothing less - from the New York State's Albany Times-Union:

Top health officials told to prioritize COVID testing for Cuomo's relatives
High-level members of the state Department of Health were directed last year by Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo and Health Commissioner Dr. Howard Zucker to conduct prioritized coronavirus testing on the governor's relatives as well as influential people with ties to the administration, according to three people with direct knowledge of the matter.

Members of Cuomo's family including his brother, his mother and at least one of his sisters were also tested by top health department officials — some several times, the sources said.

The medical officials enlisted to do the testing, which often took place at private residences, included Dr. Eleanor Adams, an epidemiologist who graduated from Harvard Medical School and in August became a special adviser to Zucker. Adams conducted testing on Cuomo's brother Chris at his residence on Long Island, according to the two people.

"If their job was to go test an old lady down in New Rochelle, that’s one thing — that’s actually good," one of the people with knowledge of the matter said. "This was not that."

Rank hath its privileges' but still, this is a blatant overdoing of it. More at the site.  Of course, the very same officials are now trying to spin the story (ie: trying to lie their way out of responsibility for their actions) This is my surprised face...

And it begins - China

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Looks like they are feeling frisky.  Nobody around to tell them no. From the Philippine Manila Sun-Star:

220 Chinese vessels with maritime militia sighted in WPS
OVER 200 fishing vessels believed to be manned by Chinese maritime militia were sighted in line formation at the Julian Felipe Reef (Whitsun Reef) on March 7, 2021, the National Task Force for the West Philippine Sea (NTF-WPS) said.

In a statement late Saturday night, March 20, the NTF-WPS said the Philippine Coast Guard confirmed the presence of “around 220 Chinese fishing vessels, believed to be manned by Chinese maritime militia personnel.”

The Chinese vessels massed at the reef showed no actual fishing activities and had their full white lights turned on at night despite the clear weather.

“The NTF-WPS notes this circumstance as a concern due to the possible overfishing and destruction of the marine environment, as well as risks to safety of navigation,” NTF-WPS said.

Foreign Secretary Teodoro Locsin Jr., said he will wait for the recommendation of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) before filing a diplomatic protest.

Looks like the Generals need to get their butts in gear.  China is testing the waters with this feint.

Meanwhile, in D.C., *Resident Joe is deciding what to have for breakfast and is fussing because his Depends© is full.

I want to believe

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Makes me wonder if the Navy is flying anything "interesting" these days. From the Whidbey Island News-Times:

Forget Bigfoot, UFOs are where the action’s at on Whidbey Island
Although his email address suggests that “Sasquatch lives,” an Oak Harbor man has abandoned any pursuit of the big-footed one to focus his camera on strange blinky lights in the heavens.

In recent weeks, Joe Cardinal has taken a series of photos of unusually shaped objects, including lights that look like perfect triangles and constipated worms, in the night sky over the city. One looked like a “hat with a window in it,” he said.

“Maybe they want to abduct me,” he joked, “and change my name to Goodspaceguy.”

Although the blurry images aren’t exactly groundbreaking, Cardinal is just one of the many people who have reported seeing unidentified objects over Whidbey Island and surrounding areas in the last year.

The Navy has had an Air Station on Whidbey since the 1940's. They generally fly the EA-18G Growlers, P-3 Orions, EP-3E Aries and the P-8 Poseidons. Wonder if anything else is being played with...

Of course, the official explanation still remains:

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Nothin' out there

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Been a very quiet couple of days - nothing really catches my eye.

The rain has let up and the skies are slightly broken - I can see a bit of the Olympic Mountains from here. Turning fairly cold - 43°F and falling. Got the heat running but feeling chilly. Some nice days in the forecast. Taking tomorrow off - another day of rest.  Doing some more graphic design for the business - logo for the checks, more on the website, etc... Developing a coherent look-and-feel to the business identity. Fun stuff - I love typography.

Going for a bit of an Arts and Crafts feel: Eric GillCharles Rennie Mackintosh, William Morris as well as American Craftsman: Greene & Greene, Frank Lloyd Wright and Gustav Stickley to name a few of my favorite influences. Can't wait for the shop to be built...

The lava is ancient - from the Reykjavík Grapevine:

Lava From Geldingadalur Is The Most Primitive Iceland Has Seen In 7000 Years
Magnús Tumi Guðmundsson, professor of geophysics, has spoken about the results of the research done on the lava flowing from Geldingadalur and states that is it very exciting, Vísir reports.

The results of the studies conducted show that the lava that is emerging from the volcano is likely the most primitive lava the surface of Iceland has seen for over 7,000 years.

Something different going on - the magma is coming from much deeper in the Earth.

A good question - guns

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From Woodsterman  (more at the site):

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Still stuck in the Suez

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Update from gCaptain:

Grounded Mega Ship in Suez Canal Paralyzes Trade for Second Day
Tugs and diggers have so far failed to dislodge a massive container ship stuck in the Suez Canal on Wednesday, increasing the chances of prolonged delays in what is arguably the world’s most important waterway.

Work to re-float the ship was suspended until Thursday morning in Egypt, shipping agent Inchcape said, citing the Suez Canal Authority. Dredgers are still trying to loosen the vessel before any attempt to pull it out, the ship’s manager said.

It’s taxing to even grasp how big this ship is. About a quarter mile long (400 meters) and weighing in at 200,000 metric tons, its sheer size is overwhelming the efforts to dig it out. A huge yellow excavator, itself about twice as tall as its driver, looked like child’s toy parked next to the ship’s bulbous bow.

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The people standing by the excavator really show the scale of this.  Imagine how large a Conex box is - 20' long by 8 or 9 feet tall and wide. This ship can hold a little over 20,000 of these.  Huge. The ship had been purpose-built to be as large as possible but to still fit through the Suez Canal.  Designed specifically for the Asia-Europe trade routes. This is going to shut things down for a little while. 

A good time to be in the marine salvage business.

The ship in the Suez Canal?

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Still stuck - from gCaptain:

Tugs Work to Refloat Ultra-Large Containership Blocking Suez Canal
The shortest shipping route from Europe to Asia remained blocked on Wednesday as eight tug boats struggled to free one of the world’s largest container ships after it ran aground in the Suez Canal.

GAC, a Dubai-based marine services company, said authorities were still working to free the ship mid-afternoon on Wednesday, and that information it had received earlier claiming the vessel was partially refloated was inaccurate.

The 400-meter, 224,000-tonne Ever Given ran aground on Tuesday morning after losing the ability to steer amid high winds and a dust storm, the Suez Canal Authority (SCA) said in a statement.

About 30% of global container ship traffic passes through the canal each day, carrying everything from fuel to consumer goods. The main alternative route for ships traveling between Asia and Europe, around the African cape, takes a week longer to navigate.

The article goes on in some detail.  The Canal handles 12% of all of the worlds shipping. Major source of hard currency for Egypt. European oil prices have already risen 2%. In 2020, they had an average of 51.5 ships transit each day.  Wonder if this will prompt them to build a second and wider canal - I know this has been talked about.

Just a rainy day on the island

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Woke up to rainfall. Heading out soon - working at the local community center and then delivering groceries for COVID shut-ins.

Did a bit of a surf and nothing out there.  The rain is supposed to continue this morning and then taper off - tomorrow cloudy and then a couple of nice days. Spring is here.

Another day, another...

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...whatever

Checking out a few things online - found a new (to me anyway) type of abrasive disk at Hardware Sales this afternoon. Abralon by Mirka. Very fine grit bonded to a foam pad. Great for wet sanding. Nice touch of irony that the parent company is from Finland. Finish for finishing. Used a lot in automobile painting. More here: Abralon Pads. Also at Amazon. I bought a couple of each of the finer grits and see how they work with the desktop. Use them instead of wet/dry sandpaper.   These might also be really nice for metalworking - especially copper and aluminum.

Watch a couple of videos and that is it for me.

From America's Newspaper of Record - The Babylon Bee:

Puberty Blockers Now Available In Infant Formula
In response to an unprecedented avalanche of requests from 3 activists on Twitter, baby food manufacturers have finally announced they will be providing hormone-laced infant formula for transgender babies.

"It's never too early to transition," said gender scientist and part-time drag queen Esmeralda Sparklestar. "This will ensure parents can give their trans child the nutrition they need to start transitioning immediately."

"What is going on here? We can't do this!" said bigoted Senator Rand Paul, clearly intent on spoiling all the fun with all his phobias. He was quickly kicked off Twitter and Facebook before he could spread any more hate.

The formula will be offered with either estrogen or testosterone depending on which flavor the babies choose between them and their doctor.

Advocates hope this will be the first step towards the next goal: prenatal hormone injections for fetuses.

Getting a bit too close to the truth here.  They got the number of activists right too. Amazing how so few people can make so much noise and screw things up for the rest of us.

Title?  A variation on E. I. du Pont's marketing slogan.   DuPont is an interesting corporation - started in 1802 making gunpowder. They invented Teflon, Nylon, Kevlar, Nomex, Tyvek, Lycra and Freon (and this is a very short list).

From Mike Schuler at gCaptain:

Grounded ‘Mega Ship’ Blocking Suez Canal in Both Directions
An ultra-large containership is aground and blocking ship traffic in the Suez Canal.

AIS data shows the MV Ever Given is stuck sideways towards the south end of the canal near Said, Egypt, preventing ships from passing in either direction. Several tugs have been on scene for several hours working to dislodge the ship.

Shipping agent GAC reports that the grounding occurred at 7:40 a.m. local time on Tuesday (March 23) at kilometer 151 after the vessel suffered a black out while transiting.

It seems the Ever Given had just begun its transit of the waterway as part of a northbound convoy when the incident occurred.

Here is a photo from someone on the ship next in line.  The Ever Given is really wedged in there.

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I hate to think of the dollars being lost each minute or the fines to be levied against Evergreen.

The Shooter in Denver

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From My Pensieve:

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Back from Bellingham

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Nice drive today - ran a few errands there. Have been looking for some moulding for the edge trim for the desk I am building.  Nothing down here.  Went to Windsor Plywood - the go-to place and they had exactly what I was looking for but they were totally out of stock.  Expecting more tomorrow.  Sigh. Plan B.

Loving the day off so much that I plan to take a bunch more - Thursday through whenever. Work tomorrow and Friday/Saturday mornings but need some "me time"

Quick surf and then fix dinner - more fresh pasta and San Marzano tomato sauce. Big salad first.

And nothing this morning either...

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The shooter in Denver - ten people murdered.  He is in captivity and they have yet to release any information.
I am betting that he doesn't fit the narrative. Hmmmm???

Taking today off - puttering around the house, going out for a nice long dog walk along the beach, coffee and then whatever catches my fancy. Quick surf and nothing really catches my eye. Time to get on with my day.

And nothing much on the internets

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Finished with dinner and surf and nothing really catches my eye out there.  Heading upstairs to work on the website. Designing the "look and feel" of the new business from scratch.  Had an existing site for the previous business but want to do something brand new - break with the old.  Going for a bit of an Art Deco look to it.

Only 7:00 PM but feeling downright sleepy - might just make it an early bedtime. Planning to goof off tomorrow so might as well have a couple more hours available for said goofage.

Filled the hummingbird feeders - they are getting hit hard.  16oz capacity, two feeders and they are being drained in under a week. Almost out of sugar - time for a trip to Costco.

Nice day today and tomorrow, rain Wednesday and then looks wonderful for about a week.  Spring is here.

The auction - not that good

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It was really picked over.  Some good stuff but all of the accompanying bits were not there.  Machine tools but no fixtures, vices or tooling. Missing pieces. People bidding waay over what the item was worth.  Some examples:

20210322-auction01.jpgA bunch of tooling but most of them were really worn out.  Chowdered. FUBAR. These lots are currently bid at around $250 - a bit high but if you need these sizes, a good deal. Individual mills are about $30 new so there is value there - again, if you have specific need for those sizes.

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This bandsaw was a stunner. Heavily rusted, Parts bent and rattling. And yet? 

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This exact machine sells for $800 brand new with all parts and accessories. The used value of this machine is around $200 if that. If I was bidding, I would drop out at $100. If that.

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I will be getting one of these puppies at some point.  They are almost 30 years old but still fully functional and a great candidate for a brain transplant.  Remove the old control electronics and replace with a PC running MACH4. New? Right around $100K for a modern unit.  Used? Under $5K for one in good condition.  Because they have been one of the "industry standards" for so long, there are a lot of third-party parts available.  Rebuilding an axis is not a daunting or expensive chore.

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So the price is OK for these.  A bit high for the VF-4 but not unreasonable.

Passing on this one. There is another one coming up later this month so I will check that one out.

Just beautiful - Iceland

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From Icelandic drone operator Bjorn Steinbekk - A guy with a drone. Music from Frikki Dór:

Just wow... I love the place. Spent July and August 1975 backpacking around.  Wonderful place, wonderful people. Returning there is on my bucket list.

And in the door - done for the day

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Got some web design to work on but that is it for today.  Slacking off tomorrow - a day of rest.

Quick surf - see what is out there...

The auction was "interesting" - took some photos and will post them shortly.

Meeting in 30 minutes. Phone call first, dog walk and coffee and then down to auction preview.

Project Veritas got some photographs from inside of the Texas "Detention Centers".  Here is just one - the silver foil are "space blankets" - keep the kids warm during the nighttime cold temperatures.  No HVAC?

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Here is a photo of Congresswoman Alexandria Occasional-Cortex standing outside the Tornillo Detention Center (actually, outside their parking lot - the fence added a certain je ne sais quoi to the narrative). This was in June of 2019 - protesting President Trump's "Kids in Cages" program.

Unfortunately for her narrative, the program was put in place by President Obama.

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President Trump shut the program down and secured the border. We had orderly immigration and security.  Biden?

Great advice from Patrice Lews at World Net Daily:

How to 'Enjoy the Decline' of America
Are you feeling depressed about the state of the nation? Are you furious with what the radical leftists are trying to impose on America?

I don't know about you, but when I hear things like H.R. 1, nicknamed the "Permanent Democrat Rule Act," which would forever keep Democrats in office, or how the Big Tech billionaires' wealth skyrocketed during a time when millions of Americans lost their jobs and businesses, it just makes me want to weep in frustration. And don't even ask me about the stolen presidential election.

But what can any individual do to change the mighty course of the ship of state, which is headed for a collision with communism? Many are asking the obvious: If our vote doesn't count, why go through the motions of giving a d*mn?

That's the hardest thing to accept: how powerless individual Americans feel in the face of this hegemony among the Five Big Evils (Big Tech, Hollywood, public education, mainstream media, radical leftist politicians). To those of us who treasure the freedoms upon which America was built, this element of hopelessness and helplessness is hard to bear.

Patrice cites two authors and their ideas as well as presenting her own solution:

Much of his advice coincides with the column I wrote last July suggesting a personal defense against the Five Big Evils and how to minimize their impact on our lives. This includes: cultivating multiple income sources, reducing debt, reducing expenses, transitioning to working from home, skipping college (with its leftist indoctrination and crushing student loan debt), hardening your social media position, leaving war-torn urban areas behind, reducing dependency on smart technology, etc.

Been doing this for the last 20 years. I love the use of the term: "Five big evils" - very Maoist. Very Chinese. Very Communist.  Take their propaganda techniques and turn them around. When you are at war - a war of ideas - every weapon is a good weapon.

From My Penseive:

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Have not taken it and not planning to.

Stuffed - dinner was delicious

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Stuffed myself and got enough left over for four more dinners.

Working on the blacksmithing website tonight as well as some emails. Full day tomorrow - got something I need to get in by then (an advertisement), meeting up with the contractors tomorrow morning and then heading South to the auction preview in the afternoon.

Clean the kitchen, run the dishwasher and watch some videos. Gettin' wild and crazy here...

They have stopped all pretense of Kabuki dance, let alone enforcement. From FOX News:

Border Patrol in Rio Grande Valley releasing illegal crossers into US without court date
Fox News confirmed Sunday that Border Patrol agents in the Rio Grande Valley Sector (RGV) have begun to process and release illegal border crossers who claim asylum without issuing a Notice to Appear (NTA) - allowing them to depart custody without scheduling a court date for a hearing.

The unprecedented move places the responsibility of seeking an asylum hearing on the migrants through Immigrations and Customs Enforcement (ICE) or legal assistance.

Yeah - like these people are going to voluntarily present themselves at a courthouse and ask for a hearing.  They are already been bussed to some sanctuary city and on the government dole - "free" food, housing, medical care, spending money, schooling, legal aid, etc...  Our tax dollars at work.

A bit more:

Multiple Border Patrol agents confirmed the new process to Fox News, revealing that they have been directed to use prosecutorial discretion (PD) to forgo the hours-long process of paperwork required to issue an NTA amid the surge of migrants at the border.

Instead, migrants are registered into the system with biometrical data taken and largely released into the public - in one instance - at a bus station in McAllen, TX. The processing is being done mostly at a temporary outdoor processing site. Border Patrol agents emphasized that this does not apply to unaccompanied children.

Straight out of Cloward-Piven - overwhelm the system. Crash it and in the ensuing chaos, install your own system.

A good night for pasta

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Picked up some fresh pasta at the coop today - time to start a pot of sauce for dinner for the next couple of nights. Costco is carrying authentic San Marzano tomatoes - the flavor is incredible.  Yes, they are a bit under $4 for a 28oz.can but absolutely worth every penny and over half the cost when you buy them from other stores. These are not San Marzano cultivars grown elsewhere, these are the S. M. cultivars grown in the San Marzano reigon of Italy. Rich volcanic soil, perfect climate. Perfect taste.

Salivating just thinking about tonight's dinner.

From Seattle station KOMO:

Borracchini's Bakery closes after 100 years, family cites pandemic as reason for closing
Remo Borracchini’s Bakery, a South Seattle landmark on Rainier Avenue South, announced on Facebook Saturday that it is shutting down after 100 years of business.

In the post, the Borracchini family cited the COVID-19 pandemic as the reason for closing its doors.

The bakery is known for its cakes and Italian delicacies. The Borracchini family says their bakery is in the party business and the cancellation of weddings, birthdays, parties, and celebrations has been devastating to their bakery.

The family thanked all of their customers and employees writing “You have all given us a lifetime of memories that will never be forgotten. It has been a privilege to be a part of all your birthdays, anniversaries and important lifetime celebrations.”

An amazing old-school food destination.  I always stopped by when I was downtown grocery shopping.
Hit PFI, Uwajimaya and Remo's in one trip. Foodie heaven.

Not often does this happen but this time, he nails it to the wall. 100% spot on:

Reminds me of that wonderful Hunter S. Thompson comment:

“The music business is a cruel and shallow money trench, a long plastic hallway where thieves and pimps run free, and good men die like dogs. There's also a negative side.”

Really? From FOX News:

Biden giving media 'zero access' to border operations
Award-winning photojournalist John Moore blasted the Biden administration for giving "zero access" to the media to observe Customs and Border Protection operations at the southern border.

Moore took to Twitter to lament the lack of transparency as a surge of migrants trying to enter the country has put a strain on resources.

"I respectfully ask US Customs and Border Protection to stop blocking media access to their border operations," Moore tweeted Friday. "I have photographed CBP under Bush, Obama and Trump but now - zero access is granted to media. These long lens images taken from the Mexican side."

This is not some talking head - Moore is a Getty Images correspondent and won the World Press Photo Foundation's 2019 photo of the year

Over 7,000 comments to this article and you can imagine the general subject matter...

And, of course:

Pelosi says Biden has southern border situation 'under control'

Pants on fire. She has to know.  She would not be in such a position of power if she was totally living in a bubble.

And nuttin' this morning either

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Slow couple of days for news.  Did a quick trot around the internet and nothing really caught my eye.  Doing a trip to the dump and recycling today - dog walk and coffee afterwards. Heading up to get a buffer.  The desktop came out really really nice but I want to take it to the next level and buff the top until it is glass smooth.

This was my first time using the homemade wipe-on polyurethane varnish. I took regular poly and diluted it down heavily with mineral spirits - about 60 poly/40 spirits and then applied multiple coats and sanding in between.  It penetrated deep into the wood and has resulted in a glass-smooth hard surface. When it is this diluted, bubbles can form so I need to be careful applying it but with a bit of care, these are minimized. Going to Harbor Freight to get an automotive buffer and a couple of bonnets and see what I can do.

There is an auction preview for a local machine shop tomorrow -  see if there is anything worth bidding on.

So true - what people want to hear

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Not what you think...

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Done for tonight

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Doing a load or two of laundry and cleaning the kitchen.  Very slow news weekend.

Spending tomorrow working on the graphics and web page for the new business - feeling very good about launching it. See what happens...

Post later this evening - maybe...  

I want...

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$40 is a bit too high though - really cute idea. From Concord Aerospace:

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A real switch so it can be installed into your vehicle or toaster or whatever your heart desires.
World domination has never been so easy.

Back to work

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Stuff around the house.

That would be my choice too

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From Powerline:

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Woooooosh - 2001 FO32

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From EarthSky:

2001 FO32: Big asteroid sweeps closest this weekend
The biggest known asteroid to pass in 2021 will sweep by on March 21. Asteroid 2001 FO32 is estimated to be about .6 miles (1 km) in diameter, not quite as long as the Golden Gate Bridge, but comparable in length. Although there’s no risk of impact, the space rock is of interest also because it’s one of the fastest space rocks known to fly by Earth. It’s traveling at about 76,980 miles per hour (123,887 km/h) or 21 miles (34.4 km) per second, relative to Earth. In contrast, Earth travels around the sun at about 18 miles (30 km) per second. Since 2001 FO32 is good-sized and occasionally passes near Earth, it’s been classified as a Potentially Hazardous Asteroid. Its orbit is well known, though, and it poses no risk of impact now or for centuries to come. On the contrary, astronomers are excited about the asteroid, which, NASA has said will provide them with:

… a rare opportunity to get a good look at a rocky relic that formed at the dawn of our solar system.

On March 21, 2021, FO32’s closest approach to Earth will occur at 16:03 UTC; translate UTC to your time. At its closest, it’ll be about 1.25 million miles away (2 million km) – or 5.25 times the distance from Earth to the moon.

Not that long ago, we would have been clueless.  Fun time to be alive!

Fagradalsfjall - live stream UPDATE

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The new Icelandic volcano here - pretty spectacular. Can't seem to embed so visit the site and see for yourself.

UPDATE:
And it's on YouTube Live:

Hi Ho, Hi Ho, It's off to work I go

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Heading out for my volunteer work - Friday and Saturday mornings for the next couple of months.

Good people, fun stuff.

Quick dog run and coffee to go first.

A bit late but it will be good to see.  Given the non-existent chain of custody, I wonder if the ballots might not have been substituted.  Lots of Demo operatives could have been spending the last four month filling out legitimate-looking Biden ballots.  From the Phoenix, AZ FOX News affiliate:

Arizona State Senate to hand-count 2.1 million Maricopa County ballots
Republicans who control the Arizona Senate announced March 18 they now intend to do a complete recount of 2.1 million ballots in the state’s most populous county to ensure that President Joe Biden’s November win was legitimate.

Senate President Karen Fann had been pushing for a "full forensic audit" of Maricopa County’s election result and won a court order on Feb. 26 granting the Senate access to the ballots and tabulation machines. But she had never acknowledged until this week that she wanted a full recount, something state law doesn’t allow except in narrow circumstances.

Good - everything points to fraud.  It will be interesting to see just how much fraud they thought they could get away with.

AKA = Obama's Children in Cages:

ABBOTT: We've known this is a crisis. What I learned in just the past hour shows that we are now dealing with a humanitarian disaster.

I need to talk to you about two of the three locations where migrants are being held in Texas ... in addition to the Dallas location, there's the location in Carrizo Springs, which is in south Texas, as well as in Midland.

What we learned in Midland, just in the past hour, [are] two things. One is they have no proven clean running water at the location. They were using well water that the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality has informed the federal government has not been proven to be safe. There's no telling what could be in there, including the possibility of arsenic. So the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality is evaluating the water, the running water. So there is no viable, usable running water at the location in Midland.

And then on top of that, more than 10% of the migrants at the Midland location have now tested positive for COVID-19. In addition to that, you mentioned the Carrizo Springs location. We also learned, within the past hour, that more than 10% of the population at that location has tested positive for COVID-19 ... Any time we're dealing with the massive amount of influx of people coming across the border, that would be a humanitarian crisis and a big challenge now, knowing the magnitude of the spread of COVID in these areas. This is occurring during the course of a pandemic and is endangering lives as we speak.

Partial transcript from FOX News

The migrants are political pawns.  They are being used to overwhelm the system so the Demos can cement their power and institute full totalitarianism. Richard Clowerd and Frances Fox Piven had the germ of this idea in 1966 and the communist wanna-be's are taking it and running with it.

Rain moving in tonight

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Light sprinkles this afternoon - been working here doing some paperwork and graphic design.

More rain forecast for this evening and possibility of T-Storms. The gale warning is still in effect until 11:00 PM tonight.  Had some wind this morning around 4:00 AM but been a pretty mild afternoon in all respects.

Nothing else to report - slow news day except for Biden almost taking a tumble several times climbing the steps to AF-1. That and his reference to President Harris.

Heh - I have this problem too

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Got my new rescue dog trained to stay off the furniture but every so often, I'll get up in the night and come back to find her on the bed.  This hit home:

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Mostly, she and Bear will go outside while I am in the bathroom and when we come come back into the bedroom, Truffle will walk over and plop herself down in Bear's bed. Bear sighs and curls up on the throw-rug (Truffle's bed is a lot smaller).  Later, Truffle will move but this is just one part of her trying to claim Alpha of this pack. Not gonna happen but she still tries - had her for about four months.  Turning into a really great little pup otherwise...

An Earth Shattering Ka-Boom

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The volcanic eruption in Iceland finally happened.  They have had a month of small quakes and signs of magma shifting around. From the English language Reykjavik Grapevine:

BREAKING: Eruption At Fagradalsfjall
The Icelandic Met Office has just reported that an eruption has begun at Fagradalsfjall, long expected to be the location of a possible volcanic eruption. This eruption is being called Geldingadalsgos, after Geldingardalur, the valley where the eruption is taking place.

The announcement states that the first announcements of an eruption came to the Met Office at 21:40 Icelandic time, and were later confirmed visually.

Scientists and the Grapevine are on the way to the location now for further reporting.

This activity is the culmination of earthquakes swarms that began in the area on February 24th, with scientists predicting an eruption may happen in the area on March 4th. Since then there have been daily briefings and concerted scientific monitoring of the situation.

As early as this morning, scientists were cautioning that the apparent quieting of earthquakes in recent days could be a prelude to an eruption.

Here is the URL for the Icelandic Met Office's website run through Google Translate - more as it happens. It's about 20 miles from Reykjavik - visible from town but no danger as it is an isolated valley.

Why else - explain this for me...

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Our first meeting with China

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Absolutely masterful - NOT!  From The Conservative Treehouse:

Complete Foreign Policy Disaster in Alaska During U.S-China Summit – Secretary Blinkin Destroyed by His own Arrogance, Had to Recall Journalists to Hear Talking Points After Initial Public Statements
To say the first major diplomatic summit between the United States and China was an unmitigated mess would be an understatement.  Apparently U.S. Secretary of State Tony Blinkin thought it would be of value for the domestic audience if he was to lambast the Beijing delegation in public and on camera.  His efforts were a complete fail as the Chinese knew everything was presented for domestic consumption… so, the Red Dragon threw fire right back onto the purple hair and obviously stunned an unsettled U.S. Secretary.

The train wreck was started by challenging China publicly, in front of the international press, likely believing such an aggressive posture would weaken Republican criticism about the Job Biden administration being soft/weak on China. However, using a joint press conference as the forum only provided insult to the Beijing delegation.

Public insults are expressions of weakness, not strength.

It was visibly obvious that Secretary Blinken stupidly did not anticipate the Chinese officials would retaliate in their remarks responding to him.

Video of the event at the site. One reader left this comment which perfectly describes our predicament:

Being good at stealing an election is not the same thing as being good at running a country

What he said...

Good - let freedom prevail - Myanmar

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And not communism because that is what they are trying to install now and the military is having nothing to do with it.
From National File:

Myanmar Military Seizes George Soros Organization’s Bank Accounts, Announces Arrest Warrants After Coup
The military government in Myanmar, in place after a coup provoked by widespread accusations of voter fraud plagued the country’s recent election, has now seized the bank accounts of George Soros’ Open Society Foundations.

After taking control of the country in a military coup provoked by allegations of voter fraud earlier this year, the Myanmar military government has seized several bank accounts belonging or affiliated with George Soros’ Open Society Foundations, and has announced arrest warrants for 11 members of the organization in the country “on suspicion of giving financial support to the civil disobedience movement against the military junta.”

The government will also take legal action against the Open Society Foundations, which they allege violated “restrictions on the activities of such organizations” and did not receive approval from Myanmar’s authorities for the deposit of $5 million into their Myanmar bank accounts. It is also alleged to have illegally withdrawn $1.4 million from its bank accounts.

A website that tracks Myanmar political developments from Thailand wrote, “Military-aligned groups including the Union Solidarity and Development Party have accused Soros of manipulating Myanmar’s politics by supporting civil society organizations in the country.”

National File reported extensively on the ties between Soros, failed presidential candidate Hillary Clinton, and recently ousted State Counselor Aung San Suu Kyi.

Good - maybe they should reinstitute Pinochet's Helicopter Tourism enterprise. The fact that Clinton is involved proves that they are corrupt.

The real story - Putin and Biden

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Vox Day prints this account of Biden's State Visit to Moscow in 2011

I documented what happened at Joe Biden’s one and only meeting with Vladimir Putin in my book Joe Biden Unauthorized. I can attest that the title of my chapter on the incident – Bitch Slapped in Moscow – is the actual truth.

Biden got bitch slapped, and he’s pretending he didn’t.

Putin knows what happened. He was there. He knows he compromised Joe Biden, who appeared unprepared to deal with the ruthless, former-KGB agent. Regardless, Joe continues to perpetuate his “I was the tough guy” lie.

As Joe Biden’s White House stenographer, I stood directly behind Putin at a distance of five feet. Biden, seated across from Putin at an elegant conference table, was about 12 feet from me.

About 10 minutes into the meeting, Vice President Biden attempted to start lecturing about his decades-old part in U.S.-Russian negotiations with the dreaded phrase, “I’ve been around a long time. The first time I was here…”

And… cut.

Joe Biden got about one sentence further into that spiel when off went his microphone, off went the lights for the TV cameras, and stern Russian voices were commanding the press to leave. And leave they did.

They went out quickly and efficiently, with videocameras popping off of tripods. Equipment snapping shut. Portable lights clattering down retractable poles. No one spoke, and no one dared linger.

This was Putin in all his KGB ruthlessness. Whether by some prearranged signal or simply an undisclosed time limit, he had pulled the plug and done the unthinkable: he’d stolen Joe Biden’s audience and rendered him speechless. Shut him down in mid-sentence with the flick of an invisible switch.

Across the table, I could see Vice President of the United States Joe Biden, in the now dimly lit room, looking as duped as an exhausted fish in the bottom of a boat. No protest, no complaint. No, hey, I wasn’t finished. Nothing. He was humiliated.

To me, the revelation was the premeditated precision of the snub. Putin or his team had likely plotted this all out. They knew exactly what bait to use, exactly how Joe Biden would take it, and then when he did, they reeled him helplessly in.

The Russian President and his delegation sat calmly and coldly as their American counterparts realized their blustery leader’s big moment had been stolen right out from under him. The most powerful man in Russia had neither fear nor respect for Joe Biden. He had just played with him for sport.

Source here: Putin Humiliated Biden In Moscow Meeting, Reveals Obama-Era White House Stenographer

And that is it for this night

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Sleepy - busy day tomorrow at the center. Doing some volunteer work there in addition to the Wednesday grocery deliveries.

Video, some tea and that is my night...

Got a Gale warning in effect starting around 2:00 AM lasting through Friday - should be fun.

My preference too

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From 90 Miles:

20210318-voters.jpg

My big regret is losing all of mine in the boating accident of 2014.  Why I brought along every single one on what was just a simple three-hour tour is beyond me.  The boat sank in just a few minutes and I lost them all.  Still kicking myself.

From America's Newspaper of Record - the Babylon Bee:

Exclusive: We Have Obtained A Copy Of Joe Biden's Day Planner
Joe Biden's day planner was left on a table at a Washington DC Denny's this week. Before returning to the White House, our staff was able to take pictures of the contents of Biden's rigorous schedule. It is truly amazing that a man of Biden's age has enough vim and vigor to accomplish so much every day.

There is a link to the picture here: Biden Day Planner - here is a small screen-cap:

20210318-dayplanner.jpg

Remember this headline from earlier this morning?

Well, less than 12 hours later we have this from ABC News:

Putin challenges Biden to debate after president calls him a 'killer'
Russian President Vladimir Putin has reacted to President Joe Biden calling him a "killer" by challenging Biden to take part in a conversation with him broadcast live online.

“I’ve just thought of this now,” Putin told a Russian state television reporter. “I want to propose to President Biden to continue our discussion, but on the condition that we do it basically live, as it’s called. Without any delays and directly in an open, direct discussion. It seems to me that would be interesting for the people of Russia and for the people of the United States.”

Putin’s invitation seemed to amount to a challenge to Biden to a live televised debate, following a day of diplomatic uproar that began when Biden said he thought Putin was a “killer” in an interview with ABC News’ George Stephanopoulos. Russia recalled its ambassador to the United States in response to the remark.

The debate would be like shooting fish in a barrel - Putin is no dummy and Biden is way past his prime.

This is my surprised face - NOT!

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Not that the United Nations has any compunction about things like this - from Associated Press:

Mexico catches migrants using false UN documents
Authorities in Mexico said Tuesday that 20 migrants were caught at a highway checkpoint using falsified paperwork with letterheads from the U.N. refugee agency, UNCHR.

The migrants were found aboard passenger buses at a checkpoint in the northern border state of Nuevo Leon.

When asked for documents, they displayed letters supposedly from the UNCHR stating they were refugees or had requested refugee status, and should be allowed to travel to cities in northern Mexico.

Mexico’s National Immigration Institute said Tuesday that U.N. officials confirmed the documents were false and have filed a complaint in the case.

50¢ says the United Nations has cases of this letterhead and is printing the fakes themselves. We give their elites free room and board in downtown Manhattan - they scratch our backs and help us overwhelm the system. Cloward-Piven on a National scale. The UN Headquarters would make a lovely Trump Tower - move them to Mogadishu or some place.

The dogs - they are looking at me

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And the coffee - it is calling my name. I must go.

Back in a while...

He DOES have a point there

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From Don Jr - at My Pensieve:

20210318-culture.jpg

Love it - make them conform to their own rules 24/7 - not just when it is convenient.

Riffing on my last post - Newsweek has this:

North Korea to Talk to Biden On Own Terms: 'Power for Power, Goodwill for Goodwill'
North Korea has confirmed it has been dodging the calls of President Joe Biden's administration, dismissing the overture as pointless unless the new U.S. leadership planned a substantive policy shift.

"The U.S. has tried to contact us since mid-February through several routes including New York," North Korean First Vice Minister Choe Son Hui said in a statement carried Wednesday by the official Korean Central News Agency. "It recently requested to contact us by sending e-mails and telephone messages via various routes. Even in the evening before the joint military drill it sent a message imploring us to respond to its request through a third country."

"But we don't think there is need to respond to the U.S. delaying-time trick again," Choe said. "We have already declared our stand that no DPRK-U.S. contact and dialogue of any kind can be possible unless the U.S. rolls back its hostile policy towards the DPRK. Therefore, we will disregard such an attempt of the U.S. in the future, too."

Heh - they want concessions first before they even come to the table.  They would not posture like this if they were not already expecting the Biden administration to comply. The Norks recognize weakness just like anyone else. They are expecting Biden to fold like a wet napkin and give them whatever they want - in the interests of world peace and all that good stuff...

Senile old fool and I am not talking about Leader Kim.

Unexpectedly - yeah right

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Just the beginning of the slide - from Breitbart:

Jobless Claims Unexpectedly Climb Despite Reopening
New weekly jobless claims rose to 770,000 for the week that ended March 13, the Department of Labor said Thursday.

Economists surveyed by Econoday had forecast a decline to 700,000. The prior week was initially reported at 712,000 but was revised up to 725,000.

Jobless claims can be volatile week to week so economists like to look at the four-week average. This fell to 746,250, a decline from the upwardly revised average of 762,0000 for the prior week.

Jobless claims—which are a proxy for layoffs—remain at extremely high levels. Prior to the pandemic, the highest level of claims was 695,000 hit in October of 1982. In March of 2009, at the depths of the financial crisis recession, jobless claims peaked at 665,000.

Compare this to 2018 - from the United States Department of Labor (Thursday, July 19, 2018):

UNEMPLOYMENT INSURANCE WEEKLY CLAIMS
In the week ending July 14, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims was 207,000, a decrease of 8,000 from the previous week's revised level. This is the lowest level for initial claims since December 6, 1969 when it was 202,000. The previous week's level was revised up by 1,000 from 214,000 to 215,000. The 4-week moving average was 220,500, a decrease of 2,750 from the previous week's revised average. The previous week's average was revised up by 250 from 223,000 to 223,250.

The previous record from 52 years ago was set under the administration of Richard Nixon. Conservative presidents are good for jobs. Plain and simple. The Democrats made a crisis out of the Wuhan Flu and used it to hurt our economy to make the Orange Man look bad. If that isn't the act of a petulant little 6-year old child, I do not know what is. We need to get adults back in the room again.  The sooner, the better.

Build that wall...

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Security is needed - from CNS News:

Pelosi’s Security Team: ‘Congress Must Immediately Fund…Mobile Fencing’ for U.S. Capitol
The “task force” of advisors that House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D.-Calif.) put together after rioters stormed the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6 has recommended that Congress immediately approve funding to design and install “mobile fencing” around the Capitol.

As of now, the area of Washington, D.C. where the Capitol sits is surrounded with a seven-foot high chain-link fence topped with razor wire.

“The current temporary fence surrounds such a tremendous area that it requires significant personnel resources to monitor its entire length,” the advisors said in their report.

“As the fencing comes down, we recommend it be replaced with a mobile fencing option that is easily erected and deconstructed and an integrated, retractable fencing system in the long term to secure both the Capitol Building and Congressional office buildings,” said the group’s report.

Next up? Proposed name change.  Old name: United States Capitol Building      New Name: Kremlin
Prescient in that Kremlin in Russian means "fortress inside a city"

Our Nation is in the best of hands

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Now this makes sense

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Explains it:

20210317-wander.jpg

Thanks a lot Ford - jobs

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What a difference two months makes - from Cleveland, OH station WKYC:

Ford plans to move new project from Avon Lake plant to Mexico
The United Auto Workers union has informed workers at the Avon Lake Ford plant that it plans to move a major project slated for 2023 from Northeast Ohio to its plant in Mexico.

The letter, dated Friday, March 12, stated that Ford is going back on its agreement to build a "next-generation vehicle" at the Avon Lake plant in 2023.

In 2019, the UAW says Ford promised to invest $900 million in a new project at the Avon Lake plant, that was set to begin production in 2023. The agreement also included a "complete revitalization" of the facility.

So basically, President Trump got Ford to commit to American labor and revitalizing American businesses. Ford bought into the program and promised to build cars here. The Democrats promised to keep the jobs here so the Unions voted for Biden.  This is a perfect example of their payback - what they got for their time and their money. Screwed.

Maybe next time, you might vote conservative - we actually have American at heart. All of America. Sit down and talk with us - you might be surprised.  We are not what the progressive narrative says we are.

Some vaccines are wonderful.  Others are not well thought out. The current crop of mRNA ones for Covid are not ready for prime-time in my book. Looks like a lot of people feel the same way. From Stat News:

The White House is set to unveil a wide-reaching, billion-dollar campaign aimed at convincing every American to get vaccinated
The White House will soon unveil a wide-reaching public relations campaign aimed at boosting vaccine confidence and uptake across the U.S., Biden administration aides told STAT.

This television, radio, and digital advertising blitz, set to kick off within weeks, will focus on Americans outright skeptical of vaccines’ safety or effectiveness as well as those who are potentially more willing to seek a Covid-19 immunization but don’t yet know where, when, or how. Specifically, the campaign will target three groups in which access, apathy, or outright skepticism may pose a barrier to vaccinations: young people, people of color, and conservatives, according to a Biden aide. Congress and the administration have set aside over $1.5 billion for the effort.

$1.5 Billion? That is not chump change. How about just giving me a nice big fat tax break instead. win/win

Back later this evening

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Out the door - van warmed up. Take the pups for a nice run before heading to the center. Long day today.

It's called Biology

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Simple as that.  What you really really really want is not necessarily in agreement with what really IS.

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Happy Saint Patrick's Day everyone

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Or as us Celts call it - Amateur Hour. Have fun and stay safe.

Heading out in 90 minutes - volunteering at the local community center for a little bit and then grocery deliveries this afternoon.

Another gorgeous morning - no frost on the ground. Cloudy last night.

Now this will be fun - My Son Hunter

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New movie - here is the website: My Son Hunter

They are in the fundraising stage right now. Their other work has been excellent: here, here and here.
They certainly have a lot of source materials to work with...

Back to normal

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From My Pensieve:

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Yup...

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Wishful thinking - Solar Cycle 25

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In the mail today was my paper copy of the amateur radio magazine QST. The cover article was touting Solar Cycle 25 as though it was going to be the next best thing since sliced bread.

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They are predicting a very active eleven years. For radio amateurs, this would be a very good thing as high solar activity means a very electrically active ionospheric layer and really really good long-distance radio propagation. Being able, not only to work other stations all around the world but being able to work them with very low power. Some hams like to specialize in low power operation - it is a lot of fun to get a signal through with the barest minimum of power.

Unfortunately, everything I have seen from other sources indicates a very quiet sun and a very low energy Cycle 25. This will be interesting as the sun is the primary driver of our climate and we have had periods of low solar output in the past - these can be measured by counting sunspots so the records go back thousands of years.

Few sunspots? Quiet sun. Cooler weather. Some of these minima have been so intense they were named: the Maunder Minimum, the Dalton, the Spörer, the Wolf, the Oort, etc... Not to mention the five major ice ages.

Looks like we are heading for another period of extended cold weather - computer models be damned (as well they should be). The River Thames in London froze over last month for the first time in 60 years. More people die during cold weather than during hot so this is what our political elite need to be looking at, not pop-Marxism.

Done for the day - dinnertime

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Ran out to check the mailbox and picked up a baked chicken breast at the store.  Shred that and have it with some pasta and frozen green peas (cooked with the pasta for a few moments when the pasta is almost done). Toss with sesame oil and a squeeze of lemon juice and top with fresh parsley.

Gettin' stuff done... Love it. Spring is definitely the time for rebirth - coming out of the cocoon of winter. Building my shop and launching the blacksmithing business this spring too so big stuff happening...

One year ago today. From Jim Geraghty writing at National Review:

We Shut Down for Way More Than 15 Days — and Still Didn’t ‘Slow the Spread’
On Monday, March 16, 2020, the White House advised all Americans to avoid gathering in groups of more than ten and urged older people to stay at home in a set of new guidelines designed to fight the coronavirus outbreak, labeling the effort “15 Days to Slow the Spread.”

That set of restrictions later was summarized as “two weeks to flatten the curve,” a slogan that grew more bitterly ironic as the pandemic and its quarantine restrictions dragged on and on — now for more than a year. That call for a voluntary avoidance of large groups quickly morphed into far-reaching restrictions upon the most basic rights and normal activities of American citizens: Forty-three governors issued orders directing residents to stay at home and nonessential businesses to close.

But one year ago, our leaders in government and public health spoke as if we were entering a severe but short-lived irritation.

Remember the toilet paper shortages? Bad policy making and bad science - but, there was a silver lining.
It was a convenient crisis to use to hurt the Orange Man.

And back to work - gorgeous day

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Cool - has not hit 50°F but loads of sunshine. Great day to be puttering in the garage.

Staying down here - not bothering to head North. Find something else to make for dinner and still have a few days more dog food so can defer the trip to Thursday. I do need some hardware but I have other things to work on besides that particular project. Flexibility.

Portland, Oregon - some numbers

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From the Washington Examiner:

Portland cut police funding and got a 2,000% surge in murders
Last June, the city of Portland, Oregon, hopped on the “defund the police” bandwagon. Now, it is flooded with gun violence, and the mayor is already backtracking from his support for the cuts.

Mayor Ted Wheeler has requested $2 million in emergency funding for the police department, pointing directly to the surge in gun violence. At this point last year, Portland had seen just one homicide. This year, that number is 20, with 208 shootings in the city so far.

And no mention of the rate of misdemeanors and small crimes. Bet those spiked too. Also, when he defunded the police, what happened to THAT money?  Why not just use it to re-hire the officers. Simple solution.

End of an era - Coke

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Having some lunch and drinking the last can of diet coke that will be in this house until they wake up and ditch the WOKE ideology.   Got a bunch of Diet Pepsi in the fridge. Been a coke drinker for over 50 years and even hung with them through the New Coke era of the 1980's but this kowtowing to the latest Marxist pop-theology fad is just too much for me to stomach.

Hey Coke? Let me know when you grow a pair and start standing up to these bullies.  I may come back but don't hold your breath.  And that high-pitched hum that you hear is John Pemberton spinning in his grave.

News we all knew - Russian Collusion

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Of course, now they can release it - their work is done and The Orange Man is gone (for now). From The Epoch Times:

China, Russia, Iran Didn’t Manipulate 2020 Presidential Election Results: DOJ and DHS
Several federal agencies on Tuesday found that there was no evidence of any foreign government interference or manipulation in the 2020 presidential election.

The Department of Justice, including the FBI, and the Department of Homeland Security and its cybersecurity agency, said in a joint report (pdf) that they “have no evidence that any foreign government-affiliated actor prevented voting, changed votes, or disrupted the ability to tally votes or to transmit election results in a timely manner, altered any technical aspect of the voting process, or otherwise compromised the integrity of voter registration information of any ballots cast during 2020 federal elections.”

Also Tuesday, the Office of the Director of National Intelligence released a separate report (pdf) with similar conclusions.

So the whole Mueller Report was what? A diversion? A witch hunt?

And of course, with a weak *Resident

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All of the vermin come out to play - from Stars and Stripes:

US special operations forces train Mozambique troops to counter ISIS threat
U.S. special operations troops have launched a mission to assist counterterrorism forces in Mozambique, where there are growing concerns about escalating violence by Islamic State militants.

The two-month effort will focus on training Mozambican marines as the country tries to “prevent the spread of terrorism and violent extremism,” the U.S. embassy in Maputo said Monday in a statement. The U.S. has also provided medical and communications equipment.

The U.S. effort, led by Special Operations Command Africa, comes during a time of increased violence in Mozambique, where nearly 670,000 people have been displaced by ISIS attacks in the mainly Muslim Cabo Delgado province.

President Trump had ISIS on the run - they were rendered ineffective. He had the Taliban moving away from terrorism and stepping up to a role of benevolent leadership. Now? All bets are off.  The Mozambique population is about 30.8 million people so for 670K to be displaced? That is a bit more than 2% - a significant number. The arms dealers are happy.  The general population? Screw them - they are just little brown men - they don't matter.

Learning from your own mistakes

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This is something that conservatives do a lot and liberals do not.  Liberals, when confronted with something that does not work, double down. Or, they seek to deflect and put the blame on other sources. Case in point? California - from FOX News:

California's Newsom blames 'anti-mask and anti-vax extremists' for recall effort, vows to fight
California Gov. Gavin Newsom is blaming "anti-mask and anti-vax extremists" for the growing recall effort he is facing in the Golden State.

On Monday, Newsom’s campaign sent an email out to supporters saying he would not take the recall effort against him "lying down" and urged recipients to sign onto a petition opposing the "far-right Republican recall effort" in his state.

Newsom went on to claim that the effort to remove him from the governor’s mansion is a "partisan, Republican recall" that was backed by "anti-mask and anti-vax extremists" as well as "pro-Trump forces" trying to overturn the 2020 presidential election.

"And let’s just call it what it is: it’s a partisan, Republican recall — backed by the RNC, anti-mask and anti-vax extremists, and pro-Trump forces that want to overturn the last election and have opposed much of what we have done to fight the pandemic," wrote the governor.

After all, I have done nothing wrong.  My leadership skills are epic and I am a good and faithful party member.

The guy could not lead his way out of a paper bag.  Ric Grenell has been promoted as a replacement - he would be awesome. Get the once-great state whipped back into shape.

Red sky at morning

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Sailor take warning - forecast does call for a front to move in. Glorious sunrise though. Cold crisp morning - clear sky last night so hard frost.  Flip side of DST is that there is an extra hour of dark when you wake up.

Working at home today - grocery deliveries tomorrow. Might head up North - low on some foods and need to do a hardware run. And then, there is always coffee...

For your consideration

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Bring back a classic:

20210316-question.jpg

Voting while on welfare

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An interesting correlation:

20210316-welfare.jpg

I have zero problem giving people a hand up when they are down but it should never be an institutionalised lifestyle.
If you have been on welfare for more than 12 months, should you have the right to vote? I would say no.
If you are not contributing to society, you should not have input into how it is being run.

But, then again, I'm raycisss or something...

Matt Margolis is doing an excellent job of coalescing the leads in this story - PJ Media:

The Washington Post's Fake Trump Quote Scandal Is a Lot Worse Than You Think
The media conspiracy against Trump became a lot more serious on Monday when the Washington Post retracted its January story claiming that President Donald Trump had pressured Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger to “find the fraud” in the 2020 election and said that he’d be a “national hero” if he did.

A recording of the call definitively proved that the quotes cited by the Washington Post, and then parroted by other outlets, were never actually said by the president at all.

But, as Becket Adams explains at the Washington Examiner, “the Washington Post’s dud of a ‘bombshell’ isn’t even the most scandalous thing about this episode in media malfeasance.”

The most scandalous thing, Adams, argues, is that several different newsrooms “claimed they independently ‘confirmed’ the original ‘scoop’ with anonymous sources of their own.”

NBC News reported it “confirmed The Post’s characterization of the Dec. 23 call through a source familiar with the conversation.”

USA Today claimed a “Georgia official speaking on the condition of anonymity to discuss internal matters confirmed the details of the call.”

ABC News reported: “President Donald Trump phoned a chief investigator in Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger’s office asking the official to ‘find the fraud’ and telling this person they would be a ‘national hero’ for it, an individual familiar with the matter confirmed to ABC News.”

PBS NewsHour and CNN likewise appeared to claim they independently “confirmed” the story through their own anonymous sources.

The Washington Post claimed its quotes were confirmed by an anonymous source, and at least five major news outlets claimed to independently confirm that Trump said things he never said. “The most likely scenario is ABC, the Washington Post, and others talked to the same person or group,” theorizes Adams. “It’s either that or a bunch of people managed somehow to be wrong about a very specific claim, which is highly unlikely.”

But but but but...  The story fit the narrative. We WANTED it to be true.
No, just more shenanigans from the Blue Anons.

Now that didn't take long - Syria

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Got to feed the war machine - can't have peace break out.  Not good for the ordnance bidness...
From Syria's English-language Syrian Arab News Agency:

45 US occupation trucks loaded with military equipment enter Hasaka coming from Iraq
A new convoy of US occupation trucks loaded with logistic materials have entered Hasaka countryside via the illegal border crossings with northern Iraq to support the occupation’s bases in Hasaka countryside.

Local sources in al-Khazna village told SANA reporter that a convoy, that includes 45 trucks loaded with boxes, military vehicles and fuel tankers, entered via al-Walid illegal border crossing with northern Iraq.

The convoy crossed the M4 highway, heading for Deir Ezzor and Hasaka, where number of the occupation’s bases spread.

In a flagrant violation of the international law, the US occupation troops work to enhance their illegal presence in al-Jazeera region, as they have established several bases to protect and train armed groups and terrorist organizations operating under their command to achieve their hostile schemes.

And yes, they have photos.  No provenance on when and where they were taken but we will know soon enough.
And it is not like this has not happened before (01/21/2021) - and (gasp) they lied about it to President Trump.

Good meeting tonight

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Covered a lot of items - I love this group. Smart, creative, well organized. A minimum of digression but everything on the agenda was talked about and voted on.

Surf for a little bit and then close up shop for the night.  Still light out - love it!

Dear Iran - an exchange

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From Mostly Cajun - spot on:

20210315-#3.jpgBunch more good stuff at the site.

Interesting developments - a lot of different major media outlets got it wrong and are now scrambling to issue corrections.  Washington Post, CNN, NYT, etc... All lies - anything to hurt the Orange Man.

Are you red-pilled yet?

Done for the day

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It will be interesting to see how many people show up to tonight's meeting.  It is nice and sunny outside - will people loose track of time? Time will tell...

Fixing some bok-choy with oyster sauce and seared Ahi for dinner tonight.  Pot of rice. Hawai'ian style.

Spring is in the air - the spring peepers are croaking.  The land across the street from me is a wetland with lots of frogs.  The skunk cabbage is up too - bright green leaves amid the brown and black rotted vegetation. Loys of life there - I love the seasonal progression. Wetlands are amazing.

Two elections

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So true:

20210315-election.jpg

Media coverage? Don't make me laugh...

Back to work

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Went out for dog walk and coffee, came back, paperwork, agenda, lunch.  Time to sand the countertop and do the last coat of poly.   Meeting later tonight.

The usual silliness online.

Saying c'mon...

Was overcast and rainy this morning but clearing into a nice day - sun is out. Van is warmed up. Paperwork has been taken care of. Waiting on some email replies.

Come home in an hour or so and make the agenda for tonight's meeting. Finish the desktop. Basic stuff...

Counting down the days - Cuomo

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Tick tock.  The purge continues. Two headlines:

Joe is failing faster than thought. Kamala is in line for *Resident but she is weak - nobody likes her. The two leading contenders were Newsom whose own career has imploded all by itself and Cuomo whose political career needed some help to implode. Help was applied and he is now being pushed off the stage.  A true Stalinist Purge. Read your history.

Such a joy - wake up to this

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Not unexpected though - from Newsmax:

Biden Plans First Major Federal Tax Hike Since 1993
President Joe Biden is planning the first major federal tax hike since 1993 to help pay for the long-term economic program designed as a follow-up to his pandemic-relief bill, according to people familiar with the matter.

Unlike the $1.9 trillion COVID-19 stimulus act, the next initiative, which is expected to be even bigger, won’t rely just on government debt as a funding source.

Like that is going to work out well.  And have you noticed the cost of insulin or gasoline or building supplies or food recently? You can thank all the clueless idiots who voted for the man.

And that is it - sleepy

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Productive day.  The butcherblock is looking gorgeous - do a final sand and coat tomorrow and set it up Tuesday or Wednesday. Want to let it get fully dried. Got the living room at around 70°F so that should be overnight.

Complex meeting tomorrow - several major items on the agenda so spending tomorrow getting my ducks in a row.  Still going out for the dog walk and coffee in the morning but working at home all the rest of the day.

Wind is now out of the North so the surf is crashing against the bulkhead.  Love the sound. Love the feeling of being on the water.

See what tomorrow brings...

At a loss for what to cook so defaulting to a can of Progresso and a couple slices of toast.  Had a decent lunch so not super hungry.  Chef is taking a day off...

Blustery with off and on rainfall this afternoon.  45°F out but feels colder - 76% RH. The hummingbirds have been very busy at the feeder. Monitor how much they eat and maybe put out another one or two.  I do four through the summer. Might need to have four out now. Stick with two for now and see how it goes.

A big ole' blast of Winter

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Spring (the Vernal Equinox) may only be a few days away but the coming cold period is making its presence known.
From The Denver Post (with more reporting here and yes, it is record-breaking weather):

Winter storm dumps snow across Denver and the Front Range
More than 19 inches of snow fell at Denver International Airport between Saturday and Sunday morning, making this snowstorm one of the biggest in the last 15 years. And it’s not over yet.

From the PowerOutage.US website, we can see that Colorado has 24K customers without power.

Our sun is very quiet right now and all the hype over Carbon Dioxide is just that. When the sun is active, we are warmer.  When the sun is quiet, we are colder. Ice ages and warmth. Our sun is a variable star. The idea that we as humans can impact the climate of Earth is pure fscking hubris and nothing more. Earth is huge and robust. It has been here before we showed up and it will be here for long after we are gone.

Taking a break

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Waiting for another coat to dry - using homemade wipe-on polyurethane finish. Normal oil-based poly diluted with mineral spirits 1:1 - the exact same stuff as they sell but a lot cheaper to make and just as good results.  This is for an upstairs countertop (the office desk) so sanding it down between coats - going up to 400 and then a scotchbrite finish. Be done tomorrow. Looks really nice - "European  walnut" butcherblock countertop from one of the box stores

Getting a lot of other stuff done in between coats.  The rain that was forecast for today is passing through now - it was spitting a while this morning and started getting serious around Noon. Supposed to be nice for a couple of days and then the rain and cold move back in (this has been a Spring teaser).

Cleaning house and doing some laundry...

Lazy day - working at home

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Heading out for a bit first. Sprinkling rain - supposed to get heavy later this afternoon so heading out now. Got a fire going in the living room - going to be finishing some wood for a project and want to get it nice and warm. Dog walk and, of course, coffee...

Case in point - my last post

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Already starting - from The Epoch Times:

Riots, Violence Erupt in West Coast Cities on Breonna Taylor Anniversary
Major cities on the West Coast were among those seeing riots and protests Saturday night as demonstrators marked the one-year anniversary of Breonna Taylor’s death in a police raid in Louisville, Kentucky.

Several U.S. cities were beset by riots and protests on Saturday night as demonstrators marked the one-year anniversary of the death of Taylor in Louisville, Kentucky.

Los Angeles, Portland, and Seattle saw protests and clashes between crowds of people and police. Rioters threw rocks at police officers in Hollywood and smashed store windows, according to reports and footage published from the scene.

Why are the black martyrs such low-lifes?

George Floyd died from Fentanyl overdose - he spent time in jail for holding a gun to the belly of a pregnant woman during a home-invasion robery. Breonna Taylor's boyfriend shot one of the police officers as they entered the appartment.  The officers returned fire. Even little Trayvon Martin was no choirboy. Bill Whittle brings the truth to that story - citing Trayvon's own social media.

A foretaste of this summer

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Flashback to 1992 - the Rodney King riots:

I was supposed to meet my wife at Soup Plantation, a well known restaurant down the road. I couldn't get her on the mobile. When I got there and parked, there was a queasy air amidst all the shopping mall splendour and people had a frightened look in their eyes that I had never, ever seen before. The easy listening music in the restaurant was so mundane it was hard to reconcile with the outside windows, which had fire engines, police cars and people running on foot outside. I had planned to just eat quickly with my wife and go home, because I was having trouble absorbing the idea that this thing was possibly even worse than I might have imagined. I thought South Central was so far off, truth is it was about five minutes down the road.

People in the restaurant were watching the television reports, which were growing increasingly more feverish and seemed to just show one new burning building every thirty seconds. I was trying to keep a calm demeanour and went to explain to my wife what was happening.

All of a sudden, a woman in the restaurant screamed. A guy dropped his tray and soup went everywhere. A man was standing in the doorway of Soup Plantation and wobbling on his feet. Blood was gushing out of his forehead which had a nasty gash running right down to his ear. He yelled "They're coming! They are next door in the mall!! They're tearing everything to pieces!"

You could have heard a pin drop. Then the restaurant exploded with activity and EVERYBODY was crawling over the women and children trying to get to their cars in the parking lot outside. I'm talking blind panic here, people smacking into each other like they could not give a fugg less about any human in the world outside of themselves. A guy floored his Subaru and tore the toll gate right off the booth. Everybody else was following him out, the attendant was gone. There was cars hitting each other like bumper buggies at the carnival, nobody seemed to care, everybody wanted to get out to the street.

When we made it out onto the highway, I got my first look at the skyline since I left Rodeo Drive. It looked like the fires of hell were consuming half of the city. My wife was crying, she thought it was the end of the world.

Not planning to travel if I do not have to.  Seattle is dead to me.
Tip of the hat to Vox Day for the link to this - more at the site.

Just make it stop... The Royals

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Their sense of entitlement is gross. From The London Daily Mail:

Is Meghan Markle already preparing a bid to be America's first woman President? Duchess of Sussex will 'use furore over Oprah interview to launch political career as she networks among Democrats', claims senior Labour figure with strong links to Washington
Meghan Markle will use the furore over her interview with Oprah to launch a political career which could take her all the way to the White House, if rumours circulating around Westminster last week turn out to be accurate.

One senior Labour figure – a veteran of Tony Blair's Downing Street administration with strong links to Washington – claimed to The Mail on Sunday that Ms Markle, 39, was networking among senior Democrats with a view to building a campaign and fundraising teams for a tilt at the US Presidency.

Talk about living in a bubble. She is an idiot.

From My Pensieve - absolutely true:

20210314-fear.jpg

Happy Pi Day

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Today is 3/14 - be sure to enjoy a piece of pie today in honor of this wonderful number. So simple yet infinitely complex.

Such a social animal...  Feeling sleepy so a few videos and that will be it. Tonight is one hour shorter so getting an early start.

Working at home tomorrow - supposed to start raining again. Always lots to do...

Glad for the change???

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So true - the people who advocate for Biden's ascension are clueless:

20210313-meantweets.jpg

It is obvious that reality has not bothered these people's minds at all.

Maybe someone needs to explain the origins of Build Back Better to them...

From The New York Post:

Cuomo staffers have stopped showing up to work as scandals mount
Disillusioned staffers are abandoning embattled Gov. Cuomo, sources said.

“I hear that most people aren’t even coming into work, and the offices at the Capitol are empty,” said one well-placed insider in touch with staffers in recent days.

“He’ll fight and fight and fight, but the staffers I’ve talked to are ready for him to hang up the gloves. Everyone feels like there is an inevitable conclusion — I mean at some point will Biden call on him to step down? They [staffers] just want this torture to stop.”

Rebellion in the ranks deepened as Cuomo on Friday defiantly refused to step aside and blamed “cancel culture” for his downfall.

“I feel a level of rage toward this fake tough guy,” seethed a second source, an ex-aide. “The guy thinks he’s the toughest, the hardest working, he’s the smartest. The truth is, he’s anything but. He’s the weakest, he’s the dumbest, and he’s the most shallow of them all. He is genuinely a very small man who pretends to be big.”

Heh - that last paragraph sure sums it all up doesn't it.  I have known people like this. Odious little men.
Orson Wells once said this about Woody Allen and it applies to Gov. Cuomo perfectly:

I hate Woody Allen physically, I dislike that kind of man. He has the Chaplin Disease; that particular combination of arrogance and timidity sets my teeth on edge. Like all people with timid personalities his arrogance is unlimited. Anybody who speaks quietly and shrivels up in company is unbelievably arrogant. He acts shy, but he loves himself; a very tense situation. It's people like me who have to carry on and pretend to be modest. To me, it's the most embarrassing thing in the world - a man who presents himself at his worst to get laughs, in order to free himself from his hang-ups. Every thing he does on the screen is therapeutic.

Narcissism writ large.

Change my mind - two points

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Explanation please:

20210313-liberal.jpg

Still waiting for that explanation. How can they rationalize this in their minds?

And out the door

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Van is warmed up, got lunch and food/water for the dogs.

Yet another day on this island paradise...

Another glorious day on the island

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High clouds but the mountains are out and looks to be another sunny day.  Hard frost - was nice and clear last night.

The state emailed its business license to me so I am now official in their eyes. Doing the website this week.

Heading out in about an hour to do the volunteering - breakfast and some paperwork first.

Surfed around - slow news day.

Don't forget - Daylight Savings Time

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Spring ahead tonight:

20210313-stonehenge.jpg

That's it for me - early bedtime

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Woke up a bit later than I wanted to this morning so starting to wind down an hour or so earlier.

Today's event was a lot of fun - good place, good people. Be there bright and early tomorrow.  My Wednesday deliveries are sunsetting in five weeks so switching to doing this on the weekends for now.  See how the schedule goes.

Nothing much on the internets - time for some videos and sleep.

Big surge of hummingbirds at the feeders - just filled them a few days ago and now they are half empty.  The warm weather brings them out - make some more nectar tomorrow.

Cuomo is outta here

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From Chris Lynch:

20210312-balls.jpg

Ewwwww... Need some mind-bleach after that.

So true - Android accounts

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Been setting up a Chromebook - these are nice and cheap and you can install Linux on them quite easily:

20210312-google.jpg

Our friends and allies

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Sure feels like this - President Trump made great strides to rectify this but the current crop of communists have taken it back to business as usual.  All in 50+ days.
From My Penseive:

20210312-trough.jpg

Nails it - Cuomo

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Don Surber understands why all these women (binders of them?) are piling on Governor Cuomo:

Getting Cuomo for the wrong thing
When the first story of Cuomo being a cad broke, I told readers that this was what they would get Cuomo for. They could not get him for killing 15,000 grannies in nursing homes because that would imply all Democrats mishandled covid 19.

Pure truth in a little over 30 words. They did you know. Horribly. They went with the narrative and not the science.

The *Resident's Speech

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Nine hours later and the *Resident's first National Address has now been viewed 69K times - up 3K from this morning.  The number of thumbs up is stationary at 1.1K and thumbs down is creeping up. Was 3.9K, is 4.2K

This is the guy who got 80,000,000 votes? Who won by a landslide?

And out the door - day one

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Heading over to the venue - back sometime after 4:00PM. Got lunch packed, stuff for the dogs and ready to roll...

Curious - some numbers

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Yesterday, I posed a link to *resident Biden's first public Address to the Nation. I included a screen-cap of the YouTube page showing only 42K views as well as 979 thumbs up and a whopping 5.1K thumbs down.

Visited the site this morning and now, 66K people have seen it and 1.1K people have given it a thumbs up.  What is curious is that the 5.1K thumbs down has shrunk down to only 3.9K thumbs down. See for yourself:

20210312-wh02.jpg

I also love that they had to turn off the comments - that would be a Sisyphean task to try to moderate so makes sense. I wonder how far the thumbs down will shrink.  Typical communists, re-writing history but not doing a very good job of it.  You are just not that bright if you buy into that ideology.

And that's it for now

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Going to fiddle with another computer - it's WiFi reception is marginal so picked up a dongle with an external antenna. See if that helps.

Busy day tomorrow and Saturday - volunteering for a local agency as they reopen one of their facilities to the public. Good people and the agency does good work.

That is it for me...

Sticker shock - 2X4's

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I am in the wrong business - should buy a sawmill.  Home Depot was charging over six bucks for a simple 2X4X96" stick of what they laughingly call "whitewood". Bought some last fall and these were under $3.00 - more than double the cost in about six months?

Whitewood? Whatever the sawmill is running that day - hemlock, spruce, fir.  Meets the code requirements but more by dint of promise than by being structurally sound.

*resident Biden addresses the Nation

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Nation? What's left of it after 50 days of radical progressivism.  Looks like a lot of other people feel the same way - here is the White House official YouTube feed for the event. Here is a screen-cap of the numbers:

20210311-wh-gov.jpg

A couple of things jump out at me - for his first nationwide address, two hours of it being online for any and all to see, only 42,637 views? Miniscule. I also love the 979 thumbs up - compare and contrast with the 5.1K thumbs down. This is the man who won in a landslide.  Believe that and I have a bridge in downtown Manhatten that you might be interested in buying.

Home again - no Thai

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Odd - used to eat out a lot but have not for a couple of months. No desire to make any changes, just my body and brain developing different habits. Also, it has been about six months since I last drank any alcohol. Again, no concious effort at change, just a shift in my daily habits.

Picked up a chicken breast at the store and making a salad for dinner - feel like having some green things.

Back to work and points North

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Take care of a couple more things here and then head out to get some wood. 2-by's and some pressure treated plywood and some Cellotex panels. There are two windows in the garage that are not where I want them to be - taking them out. Also building a cabinet for the air compressor. Cut the noise level down a bit.

Might even get some Thai food - been a while since I ate out.

Troll level - Nuclear Epic

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The North Face clothing company virtue signals and meets their match. From the Denver, Colorado CBS affiliate:

Colorado Oil & Gas Taunts The North Face At Mock Award Ceremony
The North Face is being celebrated by the very industry it snubbed. The Colorado-based company recently rejected an order for 400 jackets from a Texas oil and gas company because it reportedly didn’t want to be associated with an industry that doesn’t meet its brand standards.

Ironically, the jackets and almost every product The North Face produces and sells is made with nylon, polyester and polyurethane, all of which come from petroleum.

So, the Colorado Oil and Gas Association decided to have some fun with the situation. It bestowed its first-ever “Extraordinary Customer Award” on The North Face, saying it appreciates the company for its abundant use of oil and gas.

Dan Haley, who heads up the industry trade association, held a mock award ceremony that was more like a roast. The CEOs of oil and gas companies lampooned The North Face, pointing out that its parent company is even building a hangar at Centennial Airport for its private jet fleet.

“To have such a large percent of what they make, probably three-quarters of the mass they ship, is actually our product. So, it’s hard to top the all-in nature of The North Face as a consumer of our product,” said Chris Wright, CEO of Liberty Oilfield Services.

And, of course:

The North Face did not respond to CBS4’s request for comment.

Heh - they were PWNED and have nothing to say. When reality meets the narrative, the narrative almost always fails.
Kudos to COGA for driving this home.

Priorities

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I am safety oriented but these priorities really fit my personality - I do need my coffee:

20210311-coffee.jpg

A very wise observation - drums

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From Assistant Village Idiot:

Drums
Jonathan Winters used to do a routine about the old movies of primitive tribes drumming in the background and one of the characters shouting "I can't take it anymore! Those drums, drums, drums! They're making me crazy!" and another character saying quietly "It's when the drums stop that we should worry."

I think of that whenever I see the upper-class media relieved at how boring Joe Biden is.

I can hear them from here...

Et tu Brute - Governor Cuomo

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Even DeBlasio is denouncing him. Typical communist purge - he was getting too close to the reigns of power. Must be taken down.  We see this in post-1914's Russian history all the time. From FOX News:

De Blasio calls for Cuomo to resign after latest allegations: 'He can no longer serve as governor'
New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio called for Gov. Andrew Cuomo to resign on Thursday, following a report of sixth woman accusing him of sexual misconduct.

While de Blasio has recently discussed the idea of Cuomo stepping down after previous allegations against him, the mayor said that the latest accusation is too much and he must go.

"It is disgusting to me. And he can no longer serve as governor. It's as simple as that," de Blasio said during a press briefing.

Andrew should be happy that this is a kinder and gentler communism. With the Stalinist purges, he would have spent the rest of his short life in the basement of the Lubyanka Building under the tender ministrations of an accolyte of Felix Dzerzhinsky. Now? He has his book deal. He will be rehabilitated in a few years and will be able to join the lucrative speaking circuit. He is alive and reasonably well off financially.  He is just cut off from the trough.

Title of the post? Betrayal by a close friend.

Working at home today

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Gorgeous day too - clear skies and it looks like a couple more like this in the pipeline.
Hard frost last night but warming up nicely.

Need to get some wood for two garage projects so might head up to Home Depot later this afternoon. Or tomorrow. Or whenever. Got some work this weekend and a meeting Monday.

Putting in another couple of hours and then it's dog walk time, coffee and bank.

Interesting - super-spreader?

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Get a whole bunch of people seeking a Wuhan Flu vaccination and cram them into one place.
From The Seattle Times:

Lumen Field Event Center opens Saturday as huge COVID-19 vaccination clinic; here’s how it will work
Almost exactly one year ago, the cavernous event center between Seattle’s two pro sports stadiums was transformed into a 250-bed military field hospital, complete with surgical rooms, intensive care beds and a radiological unit, an emergency stopgap in case Seattle’s hospitals were overwhelmed by COVID-19 patients in the nation’s first coronavirus hot spot.

On Saturday, the event center, which has changed its name in the intervening pandemic year, will open as a mass vaccination site, capable of vaccinating more people in a day than nearly anywhere else in Washington and, hopefully, hastening the end of the pandemic.

They are starting small but have plans to ramp up:

Once vaccine becomes more readily available — and hundreds of millions of doses are expected nationwide in the coming months — officials say the site will be able to vaccinate 22,000 people a day, seven days a week. That’s about half the daily shots that are currently being administered by all sites in Washington combined.

And we will see how many cases occur because of the crowding. Someone feeling the symptoms might decide to get vaccinated so they do not get the whole brunt of the infection.  This will have zero effect - if you are feeling it, you are already infected and spreading the love.  If you are not infected, the vaccine takes a couple of days to kick in so being exposed when you are getting the jab? I do not know but I am betting that the infection will trump any vaccination and that you will get it.

If you look at the website, you will see that they have people queuing up through stanchions in a zig-zag path - just the thing to hang out less than six feet away from Typhoid Mary.

Oh - and by the way - that 250-bed hospital? It was never used.  Didn't see a single patient.
More at The Seattle Times, April 8, 2020

A morning meme

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From Woodsterman:

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Now this is a good point

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From 90 Miles - really hard to argue with this:

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This specific quote to be exact:

Democracy is the theory that the common people know what they want, and deserve to get it good and hard.
--H. L. Menken

Today's example comes from Ace of Spades:

Wealthy White Liberals Are Reduced to Meeting In Shameful Secret Just to Complain About the Cult of #Woke That Has Taken Hold of Their Pricey Private Schools
Honestly, could not happen to more deserving people.

If children have to be sacrificed to the Woke Demon-Gods, then it's just and right that it be your children before anyone else's.

The dissidents use pseudonyms and turn off their videos when they meet for clandestine Zoom calls. They are usually coordinating soccer practices and carpools, but now they come together to strategize. They say that they could face profound repercussions if anyone knew they were talking.

But the situation of late has become too egregious for emails or complaining on conference calls. So one recent weekend, on a leafy street in West Los Angeles, they gathered in person and invited me to join.

In a backyard behind a four-bedroom home, ten people sat in a circle of plastic Adirondack chairs, eating bags of Skinny Pop. These are the rebels: well-off Los Angeles parents who send their children to Harvard-Westlake, the most prestigious private school in the city.

By normal American standards, they are quite wealthy. By the standards of Harvard-Westlake, they are average. These are two-career couples who credit their own success not to family connections or inherited wealth but to their own education. So it strikes them as something more than ironic that a school that costs more than $40,000 a year--a school with Charlie Munger, Warren Buffett's right hand, and Sarah Murdoch, wife of Lachlan and Rupert's daughter-in-law, on its board--is teaching students that capitalism is evil.

For most parents, the demonization of capitalism is the least of it. They say that their children tell them they're afraid to speak up in class. Most of all, they worry that the school's new plan to become an "anti-racist institution" -- unveiled this July, in a 20-page document -- is making their kids fixate on race and attach importance to it in ways that strike them as grotesque.
...
"They are making my son feel like a racist because of the pigmentation of his skin," one mother says
...
"The school can ask you to leave for any reason," said one mother at Brentwood, another Los Angeles prep school. "Then you'll be blacklisted from all the private schools and you'll be known as a racist, which is worse than being called a murderer."

One private school parent, born in a Communist nation, tells me: "I came to this country escaping the very same fear of retaliation that now my own child feels." Another joked: "We need to feed our families. Oh, and pay $50,000 a year to have our children get indoctrinated."

Yeah - they voted for this.  Let them marinate in the consequences of their actions.

Looking forward to the societal red-pill moment.  When the dam breaks. When the flood washes away all the communist pseudo-babble. When people's eyes finally open.  I can see it happening, I just want it to happen now dammit.

Ho. Li. Crap. - drone photogaphy

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This is one of the best sequences I have seen in a long long time:

Loved the Lebowski references 😁
YouTube channel here: Jaybird Films - be sure to watch the other videos.  An amazing talent.

The 7 Ps - OVHcloud as a case study

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The 7 Ps - a military adage  The version I am familiar with reads: "Proper Prior Planning Prevents Piss Poor Performance"
Truer words were never spoken - from Reuters News Service:

Millions of websites offline after fire at French cloud services firm
A fire at a French cloud services firm has disrupted millions of websites, knocking out government agencies’ portals, banks, shops, news websites and taking out a chunk of the .FR web space, according to internet monitors.

The fire, which broke out on Wednesday shortly after midnight at OVHcloud, destroyed one of four data centres in Strasbourg, in eastern France, and damaged another, the company said.

There was no immediate explanation provided for the blaze, which erupted just two days after the French cloud computing firm kicked off plans for an initial public offering.

Europe’s largest cloud services provider told clients including the French government, the Centre Pompidou and cryptocurrency exchange Deribit to activate their disaster recovery plans following the blaze.

“Firefighters were immediately on the scene but could not control the fire” in the affected data centre, founder and chairman Octave Klaba said on Twitter. He said the plan for the next couple of weeks would include rebuilding the centres’ equipment and checking their fiber optic connections.

This is just so wrong on so many different levels.  I sniff either massive French ego, gross incompetence or an insurance scam or some combination. No effective fire supression? Having a single point of failure? (redundency is KING) Two fires in different locations? French ego?

French politicians have championed OVHcloud as a possible alternative to U.S. cloud services providers, but it has so far lacked the scale and financial clout to dent their market share.

The company said on Monday it had started the process for a potential IPO, without giving details.

Trying to grow too fast is a sure path to business failure.  Seeking to raise funds through an IPO is something you do after you are established.  Trying to compete with Alphabet, Amazon or MSFT is foolish - they are entrenched.  You are ten years too late. You need to offer something different - not compete against an entrenched product.

Something smells fishy here... Just sayin'

RIP: Lou Ottens

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Lou Ottens?  From National Public Radio:

Lou Ottens, Inventor Of The Cassette Tape, Has Died
Lou Ottens, who put music lovers around the world on a path toward playlists and mixtapes by leading the invention of the first cassette tape, has died at age 94, according to media reports in the Netherlands. Ottens was a talented and influential engineer at Philips, where he also helped develop consumer compact discs.

Ottens died last Saturday, according to the Dutch news outlet NRC Handelsblad, which lists his age as 94.

The cassette tape was Ottens' answer to the large reel-to-reel tapes that provided high-quality sound but were seen as too clunky and expensive. He took on the challenge of shrinking tape technology in the early 1960s, when he became the head of new product development in Hasselt, Belgium, for the Dutch-based Philips technology company.

"Lou wanted music to be portable and accessible," says documentary filmmaker Zack Taylor, who spent days with Ottens for his film Cassette: A Documentary Mixtape.

Ottens' goal was to make something simple and affordable for anyone to use. As Taylor says, "He advocated for Philips to license this new format to other manufacturers for free, paving the way for cassettes to become a worldwide standard."

His invention was just right.  Not perfect but good enough.  The smaller size and slower tape speed meant a lot more noise and not as good a quality of reproduction but you were playing these casually and not in a critical listening situation so the noise and quality did not factor into your experience. Perfect for walking around, in the car, as background music.

Nice that he lived long enough to see them become so popular as well as seeing the resurgence.  They are back in a big way.

Heh - certainly true for me

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Of course our Governor jumped on the bandwagon and stuffed covid sufferers into our nursing homes.
Read the sordid story at Red State

Washington Governor Jay Inslee Joins the League of COVID Nursing Home Governors
Last week, I wrote about New York Governor Andrew Cuomo’s nonstarter of a press conference, and pointed out the real issue that should get him impeached and put on trial: His emergency powers order that led to the murder of thousands of elderly in nursing homes.

Really, there should be both state and federal investigations mounted against Cuomo, as well as the other four governors who are complicit in using their emergency powers to force COVID positive patients into nursing homes. These corrupt cretins murdered vulnerable elderly patients by the thousands, and then massaged and covered up the actual numbers. How these geniuses thought they could do this, while bragging and burnishing their supposed leadership credentials on how well they were doing with the pandemic reflects just how power mad and arrogant they had become.

Aaaand:

In newly disclosed communications, Candace Goehring, Director of Residential Care services for the state, sent a letter to “Nursing Facility/Home Administrators” asking them to take COVID patients and also enticing them with Medicaid funds. “Nursing Homes that admit these patients will receive a $100 add on to the Medicaid nursing home rate…”

The letter was dated almost three weeks after the virus outbreak in Washington State swept through a nursing home in Kirkland, killing the majority of residents. As a result of the spread, Washington was the initial epicenter of the virus in the US.

Aaand:

Governor Inslee expanded the directives he made for nursing homes to long-term care facilities on March 26. In proclamation 20-36 on March 30, almost a month after the outbreak in Washington nursing homes, Inslee mentioned in anticipation of hospitals being overwhelmed a need to “…waive portions of licensing statutes and rules” so healthcare facilities could provide alternative beds for COVID patients.

No surprises there - Inslee is a great big dummy.  Self-centered narcissist - he thinks he is doing as good a job as can be done but he is willfully blind to the reality that he is an incompetent hack. A faithful party hack but still, a hack.

Now, I get to spend the rest of the day working for me. Meeting this morning and then delivered the groceries - this program is sunsetting next month. Good. It had morphed from Wuhan Flu to convenience - scope creep.

Gorgeous day and looks like a couple more in the pipeline. Got the doors open and airing out the house - low 50's outside.

From 90 Miles:

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Something to keep in mind

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From Woodsterman:

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Apropos the Oprah interview

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The royal and the royal wanna-be - this meme came to my attention:

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As for the little ginger prick - Ann Barnhardt brings a question as to his legitimacy:

Unsolicited Advice for Queen Elizabeth
I have Epsilon above zero use for the so-called Royal Family, and lost pretty much all respect for Queen Elizabeth, “devout Christian”, when she refused to lift a finger to help prevent the NHS from murdering Alfie Evans. Nevermind the question as to whether or not a middle class German family (House of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha) has any actual lawful connection to the throne of Great Britain…

But, putting all of that to the side for a moment, Queen Elizabeth REALLY needs to take advantage of the opportunity that Mrs. Trevor (Rachel) Engleson (née Markle) is handing to her. Yes, OPPORTUNITY.

Harry isn’t Prince Charles’ son. Harry is the son of a guy that Princess Diana was having an affair with, James Hewitt. BEHOLD. This is Ronan Farrow-Frank Sinatra level resemblance:

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More at the site.  When Ann is talking about Ronan Farrow-Frank Sinatra level resemblance, you can see what she means by going to this link. Farrow is the "son" of Mia Farrow and her husband Woody Allen. The fact that Mia was earlier married to and then was having an affair with Frank Sinatra does not enter into the picture. Except it kinda does

Entropy is a stone bitch. The Southern border was under control when President Trump left office.  Now?
From CBS News:

Record 3,200 migrant children stuck in Border Patrol custody, with nearly half held past legal limit
More than 3,200 migrant children were stuck in Border Patrol facilities on Monday, with nearly half held beyond a three-day legal limit, as the Biden administration struggles to respond to the sharp increase in the number of unaccompanied minors crossing the U.S.-Mexico border.

According to government documents obtained by CBS News, nearly 1,400 unaccompanied minors had been held in Customs and Border Protection (CBP) holding facilities for more than three days as of Monday, despite the agency's legal obligation to transfer these children to shelters operated by the U.S. refugee agency within 72 hours of taking them into custody.

Nearly 170 unaccompanied children stuck in Border Patrol custody are under the age of 13, according to the CBP documents.

And how many can they hold?

As of Monday, the Office of Refugee Resettlement had only about 500 beds available near the southern border for the increasing number of migrant children entering U.S custody, according to a document from the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), which oversees the refugee agency.

Not good numbers. Looks like the people controlling Joseph Robinette Biden are awarding positions in the administration based on fealty and not on competence. These people are not elected and there is no consequence if they do not do a good job.

As with any bureaucracy, if they publicly fuck up, they will publicly be removed from their post, placed on "administrative leave" for about six months and then they will be quietly rehired in a different position - often with a nice pay raise for their troubles - and that is that. No accountability. No oversight. Rot from top to bottom.

I went out to get some groceries and a sheet of pressure-treated plywood.  Came home a few minutes ago to find six bags of groceries, two pallets of bottled water and about two dozen bottled "fruit" juices.  Some frozen foods, some refrigerated.  The local grocery store name was on the bags so I called them.  They offer grocery pickup but contract out through a company called Instacart for delivery. I got the Instacart customer service number.

Called them and they were totally unable to help.  The person I spoke with said that they had no way to contact the customer, no way to contact the driver.  The only way they can find out if there is a problem is if the buyer calls them.

This is about $150 worth of food I am talking about.  This is a very stupid and un-businesslike way to run a business. Zero customer service, zero error correction, zero way to learn from their experiences.  Wonder how long they will remain in business.

Quick search turns up these links:

The people doing the deliveries are probably nice but they made a honest mistake.  The corporation is stupidly run.
Just say no.

Back to work

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Got things to do.  Places to go.  People to email. Words to type. Photons to observe. Critters to skritch.

BlueAnon? Two memes to explain

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Using the liberals tactics against them:

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Not only nursing homes - from National Review:

Don’t Forget Andrew Cuomo’s Other Coronavirus Victims
In late April 2020, while field hospitals built with millions of dollars stood empty and the USNS Comfort prepared to leave NYC after having only treated 182 patients, Governor Cuomo announced that further construction on such sites would halt, because they were unnecessary. “Thank God New Yorkers listened, and the projection turned out to be incorrect, because we reduced the spread of the virus with the closings, NY PAUSE, etc.,” Cuomo said on April 21. “Did you need the beds? Yes. You needed the beds because that was the projections. We stopped any new construction when we saw the rate starting to stabilize.”

We know now that this “stabilization” for hospitals involved sending contagious individuals back to nursing homes, where they would infect others. But it wasn’t just nursing homes. Cuomo’s edicts put another vulnerable population in inexcusable peril: New Yorkers with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD) living in group homes. A study released in June in Disability and Health Journal titled “COVID-19 outcomes among people with intellectual and developmental disabilities living in residential homes in New York state” found that people with IDD living in residential group homes were more than twice as likely to have severe outcomes and deaths as the state’s general population.

The order in question - FOX News:

Cuomo admin ordered homes for disabled to accept coronavirus patients & never reversed it
New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo's administration ordered homes for people with developmental disabilities to accept coronavirus patients — and never rescinded the order.

The April 10 directive, which mirrored the Cuomo administration's controversial order to nursing homes, also told homes for people with developmental disabilities that they could not require hospitalized residents to be tested for coronavirus prior to admission or readmission.

Five hundred fifty-two residents at homes for people with developmental disabilities have died of coronavirus, the New York Office for People With Developmental Disabilities (OPWDD) told Fox News on Monday.

More than 6,900 people out of the more than 34,552 who live in such resident homes have been infected with the virus, according to OPWDD.

Explain to me why this idiot is still in office.

Ho. Li. Crap. BillG is evil

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I know that he is dumb. He has a strong business sense and a killer competitive drive but he is just not that smart.

Turns out that he is evil as well - from One America News Network:

Bill And Melinda Gates Foundation Linked To Chinese Company Found To Have Mined Americans’ Data
Bill Gates has reportedly been linked with a Chinese company U.S. officials are now calling a national security risk for nearly a decade. According to reports Monday, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation has worked extensively with BGI Genomics since 2012, which was formerly known as the Beijing Genomics Institute.

Back in 2012, the billionaire’s foundation established a memorandum of understanding with the Chinese firm to “bring genomics research” to the global society. This occurred as U.S. Intelligence officials said the company used COVID-19 test kits supplied to the U.S. government to “collect, store and exploit bio-metric information.”

“They are the ultimate company that shows connectivity to both the communist state as well as the military apparatus,” stated Will Evanina, former director of the National Counterintelligence and Security Center. “Current estimates are that 80 percent of American adults have had all of their personally identifiable information stolen by the Communist Party of China.”

Nice job of selling us out Bill. Nice to remember where you came from.
You are not an elite world citizen, you are a pawn of the global communists.

Dog walk, coffee, read, library and bank. Back home shortly as working on some stuff here.

Nothing much catches my eye on the internet.

Working on other stuff this morning

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Got an email from someone I know asking me to buy them a $300 gift card at a local grocery store and to give them the numbers - it was going to be a birthday present for their niece.

This was someone from the local arts group but for some strange reason, they could not tell me the color of my hair, my position in the arts group or what my art is. Curious...

I will be calling her and offering to come over and de-bug her system. Somebody got hacked... Needless to say, I sent out an email to the rest of the group.

And done

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Full day today, full day tomorrow.  Working at home on more paperwork and some other computer stuff. Supposed to be getting a couple of nice days this week - looking forward to spending some time outdoors.  The house can use a bunch of yard work.

Doing the colcannon as a potato pancake worked really well - something to do just on its own. Mashed potatoes, a bit of sliced cabbage, half & half, onions, garlic, black pepper, salt and bacon.  Lots and lots of lovely lovely bacon permeating the whole dish. Cook on the griddle until you get a Maillard Reaction and a nice savory crisp crust on each side. Them's good eatin'...   A little bit of mushroom gravy or demi glace would not be unwelcome either.

From Detroit radio station KXYZ:

Macomb County Prosecutor says criminal charges possible against Governor Whitmer over nursing home deaths
Criminal charges could be in the works against Governor Gretchen Whitmer over putting COVID patients inside nursing homes used as hubs early in the pandemic.

New Macomb County Prosecutor Peter Lucido says people who lost loved ones to COVID as residents or staff inside nursing homes should go back to get the vital information about the circumstances of their death and take that to local police and make a complaint as a wrongful death.

Lucido says with HIPAA laws, he can’t get that information in his own investigation.

And a bit more:

Lucido tells 7 Action News, “If we find there’s been willful neglect of office if we find there’s been reckless endangerment of a person’s life by bringing them in then we would move forward with charges against the Governor. Of course, we would. Nobody’s above the law in this state.”

And the numbers are telling:

Lucido started looking into this last year as a State Senator. He issued a statement in August that said more than 2,000 residents and 21 staff died in nursing homes, 32% of all deaths.

That is a lot higher than to be expected - well above the statistical noise floor. If they get Whitmer, then, they can go after Cuomo and the others. Five states used Nursing Homes to stash Covid patients. Michigan, New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania and California. Time to pay the piper.

46 seconds of Dementia

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*resident Xiden forgetting the name of the Pentagon and the name of his Secretary of Defense:

And they expected any different?

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From The Washington Times:

DHS begs for volunteers to rush to the border, admits surge of migrants is 'overwhelming'
Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas begged Monday for volunteers from agencies within his department to rush to the border to help with an “overwhelming” surge of illegal immigrants.

In an email to department employees, Mr. Mayorkas said he was copying an idea the Trump administration used in 2019, during the last surge.

The email is another indication that despite public pronouncements to the contrary, the Biden administration believes it is facing a crisis at the border.

And this from NOQ Report:

Biden administration blatantly hiding border crisis numbers because they’re just that bad
How bad are things at the border? How much of the illegal immigrant surge is blowing right past the southern states and spreading across the nation’s interior? How many of them have entered the United States without being tested for Covid-19? These are all valid questions, to which we are receiving zero answers from the Biden administration.

And then there is this - which unfortunately makes absolute perfect sense:

Let’s be perfectly clear about this. If the numbers at the border were anywhere near sane, the administration would not be hiding them. In fact, they’d be broadcasting them as a way of virtue signaling to a radical progressive Democratic base that has been critical of the early days under Joe Biden. He needs “good” news about how radical he is after bombing Syria, putting illegal immigrant children in cages, failing in his promise to deliver $2000 relief checks, doing nothing on gun control, and failing miserably on every progressive promise he made during the campaign.

The fact that they’re actively and aggressively hiding the numbers at the border should absolutely terrify any American who values our sovereignty. It’s an open-borders-advocate’s dream come true as the floodgates pour in unprecedented numbers of illegal immigrants. Again, we know the numbers have to be astounding because if they weren’t we’d know them. This type of information is readily available and estimates can be delivered in real-time. Instead, we’re faced with receiving zero updates whatsoever.

There are many reasons Democrats would want the borders to be open, but this situation appears to be one that has already gotten out of hand. Whether the administration was too ignorant to realize the ramifications of their actions or they simply didn’t care, it will be the American people, including legal immigrants, who are hurt most by this.

Gotten way out of hand. The people in charge of this administration are being given their positions based on their ideology and not their competence. For a perfect example of this, refer to the case of Trofim Denisovich Lysenko - the agronomist whose theories on farming and increasing yields led to the starvation deaths of hundreds of thousands of Russian citizens.

Now, the people in charge are being silenced - not allowed to speak outside of their little circle. Their bubble. From Breitbart:

Biden Admin Restricts Senior DHS Officials from Sharing Border Crisis Info with Reporters
A senior-level law enforcement source in the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) told Breitbart Texas they received verbal orders from within the agency limiting their ability to speak freely about the growing crisis along the border.

The official with knowledge of the restrictions spoke under the condition of anonymity because they are not authorized to speak on the matter. “The situation with media relations now is night and day compared to the last administration, The official said. “We have been advised not to speak on immigration issues at the border and to rely on DHS’s Office of Public Affairs and the Whitehouse Press Office to handle messaging.”

The verbal order applies to senior law enforcement leaders within DHS and has no formal expiration date. It comes as the administration is struggling to manage the growing crisis caused by changes in border security and immigration policies leading to a spike in illegal crossings at the border.

Going to get much worse before it gets any better.  The Biden administration will go down in history.
We need the dam to break and the flood to wash the corruption away.

And home again

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Yet another productive day. Bellingham was good - picked up a few things at Hardware Sales: sanding disks and a decent level.  Found that my Harbor Freight as well as my big-box-store Chinesium levels were not...  Picked up a nice Stabila - German and priced accordingly - buy once, cry once. They are bulletproof and fully warrented.

Going to make some "potato cakes" from last night's Colcannon - haven't had a salad in a while so make one of those.

Quick surf first...

And off for a couple hours

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To Bellingham - 1:30 meeting and another trip to the storage unit up there. Next couple days are going to be busy - back in harness again.

Gorgeous day for the drive - crisp, cold and clear.  The mountains are out in all of their snow-covered glory. Taking the dogs with and will stop for a nice run on the way.

Culture jamming the retards

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The people who follow the narrative.  Who agree with Marx but never read his writings. Using their tools against them.

From Not The Bee:

People are starting to use Lefties' nonsensical language against them and it’s absolutely beautiful: Meet #SuperStraight and #BlueAnon
One of the biggest issues conservatives have faced in recent decades is a lack of control over shaping language. See, everyone right of Marx believes in objective, scientific definitions. For example, a tree... is a tree.

For the Left, however, a tree might not be a tree. A tree might be an animal. A man is a woman. An expensive death sentence is "affordable healthcare." War is peace. Ignorance is strength. Now you begin to understand me.

This is how we've come to a point where most labels in mainstream culture are created by the politically-correct Left, whether it be "income equality," "social justice," "inclusion," "cultural appropriation," or "anti-racism."

But with their destruction of meaning, the Left's ideology that language (and reality) can be molded in whatever form you fancy is starting to backfire on them.

It turns out, when you say nothing is true, even your own statement becomes false.

And so, after years of waiting, the Right has begun to parody the Left by playing their own stupid game. This led to the creation of two terms this week that began trending: "Superstraight" and "Blue Anon."

I love it. Absolutely perfect. Read the whole post - they cite some delicious examples.
Use their tools against them - cultural ju jitsu.

What a difference one year makes

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Almost to the day - two tweets from the Washington Post:

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Tip of the hat to My Pensieve

Sounds wonderful but what do you expect - fire the police and let the criminals go free?
From Associated Press:

As violence surges, some question Portland axing police unit
Elmer Yarborough got a terrifying call from his sister: She wept as she told him two of his nephews may have been shot in broad daylight as they left a bar in Portland, Oregon.

He drove there as fast as he could. An officer told him one of his nephews was heading to the hospital and the other, Tyrell Penney, hadn’t survived.

“My sister, Tyrell’s mom, was on the phone; I just said, ‘He’s gone.’ And I just heard the most horrific scream that you could ever imagine,” Yarborough said.

When Penney was killed last summer, unrest was roiling liberal Portland as protesters took to the streets nightly to demand racial justice and defunding police. At the same time, one of the whitest major cities in America was experiencing its deadliest year in more than a quarter-century — a trend seen nationwide — with shootings that overwhelmingly affected the Black community.

We did not have racial issues for 40 years and then Obama came along and figured out that racisism would be a good tool to divide the population. This is all his legacy. Some more:

More people died of gunfire last year in Portland — 40 — than the entire tally of homicides the previous year. The number of shootings — 900 — was nearly 2 1/2 times higher than the year before. The spike has continued this year, with more than 150 shootings, including 45 people wounded and 12 killed so far.

Police had warned of possible repercussions of ending the unit, pointing out cautionary tales in other cities that had made a similar choice.

Portland police quoted former Salinas, California, Police Chief Kelly McMillin: “Not to be overly dramatic, but if you lose the unit which focuses on removing firearms from the hand of violent offenders, people will die. It’s really just that simple.”

Stockton, California, began disbanding and defunding police units dedicated to gun violence in 2010. In 2011 and 2012, the city’s homicide rates reached record highs. After the city restored the units, homicides significantly declined, according to data reported by police.

Simple as that really - get rid of the police, get rid of the legally owned guns and the criminals move in. Portland is being especially stupid in that they are releasing rioters right after they are arrested as well as dismissing the cases when they do come to trial.  If they had to sit in jail for a couple weeks, that would take the bloom off the rose.  Rioting would no longer be "fun".

maj ram

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Productive day for me, great run for the dogs but a dead-slow day for interesting crap on the internet.

Wishing all of you maj ram

Our founding fathers were weather nuts. From current-day weather nut Cliff Mass:

The Revolutionary Weather Observers
It is not well known that the founders of the American republic were avid amateur meteorologists, with many of them taking weather observations daily.  George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Benjamin Franklin, and others were intrigued about the meteorology and climate of the new nation and deeply curious about the natural world.

By the time of the American revolution, relatively decent thermometers, barometers, and rain gauges were available, and taking weather observations was all the rage.
Take Thomas Jefferson, our third President and the primary author of the Declaration of Independence.

He started taking observations in Monticello, VA in the early 1770s, doing so twice a day....once at dawn and again at 4 PM. On his way to Philadelphia in 1776, he picked up a thermometer and took FOUR observations on July 4, 1776.

Amazingly, the high temperature that day was 76F!

More at the site - our nation has a fascinating history. It is a shame that the communists seek to overwrite it with their fallacious garbage.

There is hope out there - London

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Laurence Fox is running for mayor:

Productive. Coffee was good. Dogs had a rollicking time.

The afternoon has alternated between squalls and clear skies - gorgeous outside but cold.  Made some more nectar for the hummingbird feeders - still keeping the two feeders up as they are being visited regularly.

No clue as to whats for dinner...  Maybe make some pasta.  Haven't made Colcannon in a long time - that actually sounds really good and I have the ingredients.  Irish comfort food.

Told 'ya so - Florida

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From the Wall Street Journal:

Vindication for Ron DeSantis
In the early months of the coronavirus pandemic, New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo imposed strict lockdown policies—many still in place—and became the media’s golden boy. “The governor of New York’s morning news conferences have become part of the country’s new daily rhythm,” the Washington Post’s Style section gushed in March 2020. “He’s the strongman who can admit he’s wrong. He speaks fluently about the facts. He worries about his mother, and by extension, yours, too.”

Gov. Ron DeSantis took a different approach and was pilloried. He was among the first to lift his state lockdown, adopting something resembling Sweden’s strategy of protecting the vulnerable while keeping businesses and schools open. “Florida Man Leads His State to the Morgue,” read a June headline in the New Republic. “Ron DeSantis is the latest in a long line of Republicans who made the state a plutocratic dystopia. Now he’s letting its residents die to save the plutocrats.”

A year after the virus hit the U.S., Mr. Cuomo’s luster has faded, and Mr. DeSantis can claim vindication. The Sunshine State appears to have weathered the pandemic better than others like New York and California, which stayed locked down harder and longer.

Mortality data bear out this conclusion. The Covid death risk increases enormously with each decade of age. More than 80% of Covid deaths in the U.S. have occurred among seniors over 65. They make up a larger share of Florida’s population than any other state except Maine. Based on demographics, Florida’s per-capita Covid death rate would be expected to be one of the highest in the country.

Nope. Florida’s death rate is in the middle of the pack and only slightly higher than in California, which has a much younger population. Florida’s death rate among seniors is about 20% lower than California’s and 50% lower than New York’s, based on Centers for Disease Control and Prevention data.

Simple really. Cuomo followed the narrative.  Everyone in the bubble follows the narrative so of course, Cuomo was the golden boy. DeSantis followed the science.  People following the narrative do not concern themselves with the science.  These people think that the narrative is the science. DeSantis got it right.  A lot of small businesses in Florida are doing just fine.  A lot of small businesses in New York are deader than Cuomo's grandmothers. Again - simple.

Good - from The New York Post:

Andrew Cuomo to sign bill stripping his own emergency COVID powers
Gov. Andrew Cuomo said Sunday that he’ll sign a bill that strips him of the emergency powers he was granted during the coronavirus pandemic.

“I’m signing today the legislature’s emergency powers bill,” he said during a conference call with reporters Sunday. “And I’m going to implement it today with a significant change.”

Good - time to get everyone back to business. Re-open everything.  This was just a bad flu season and the Democrats jumped on it to make President Trump look bad. Nothing more than that.

Who is racist

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This is about as clear as it can be said:

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I welcome your attempt to change my mind...

Rambunctious

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The dogs are tearing up the house - time to get them to a large field and let them run their ya-ya's out.

Coffee and reading for a bit - then back home.  Nose to the grindstone and all that good stuff...

Yet another day in paradise

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Paperwork.  Always fun. Heading out for coffee in a couple of hours.

Another dump run in a few days - going to Bellingham tomorrow for more stuff and sorting through that. A few treasures but 99% crap - not even worth giving to the thrift store.

Back to work...

What a brilliant idea

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The three key elements of retail sales ae location, location and location. From the Detroit Free Press:

Girl Scouts suspend sales outside marijuana dispensary after misunderstanding
A Walled Lake marijuana dispensary seemed like an ideal place to sell Girl Scout cookies after some local troops set up shop outside the facility and sold 1000 boxes last weekend.

At least that was the case until the Girl Scouts of the United States of America got wind and frowned upon the idea — setting off a storm on social media and leaving scout leaders scrambling to smooth over the hubbub, calling it a “misunderstanding.”

After arranging to go back this Friday and Saturday, local Girl Scout members and families were told not to sell cookies in a "facility where they're not allowed to shop," said Jerry Millen, the owner of Greenhouse of Walled Lake. "I understand that, that's fine ... but they were set up on a public corner, in wildlife."

Seems to me that that would be a perfect location. Sad that the Girl Scout bureaucracy did not let them have some fun.  The pot shop owner stepped up to the plate:

Legally in Michigan, dispensaries are not allowed to sell food or drinks inside the facility, so Millen took it upon himself to buy 301 boxes of Girl Scout Cookies from the girls who were going to sell outside his shop today, to pass out for free tomorrow "just to prove a point."

And it is not that this is without precedent - I wrote this in 2014: Great business location - Girl Scout Cookies

California - money magic

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Now you see it, now you don't. A two-fer.
From Axios:

Newsom says first responders will be first victims of state budget deficits
California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) told CNN's "State of the Union" on Sunday that the federal government has a "moral obligation" to provide funding for states in its next coronavirus relief bill, noting that police officers, health care workers and firefighters will be the first ones laid off as a result of massive budget deficits.

And from Los Angeles station KTLA:

California to spend $28 million to help asylum-seekers arriving from Mexico
California is freeing up as much as $28 million to help immigrants arriving from Mexico and being released in the U.S. until their court dates, a sharp contrast from other border states that have emerged as foes of President Joe Biden’s immigration policies.

We can see his priorities and they are not his constituancy.

Bellingham was good

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Got another load of stuff from that storage unit to my unit down here.  Still stuff in the van but that is for me to sort over the next day or so.

Retail therapy was good - gained some weight my old Carhart jeans had shrunk a bit so buying some the next size up. Carhart is severely backordered but I was able to snag a black double-front today. I already have one in khaki and the dark green - black was the only color that I didn't have yet.

More paperwork tomorrow. Woke up earlier than usual this morning - - AND - - not much is happening out there so this is it for me for tonight. Feeling downright nappish right now.

From The Gateway Pundit:

BREAKING EXCLUSIVE: Ballots In Arizona’s Maricopa County Found Shredded and In Dumpster – Days Before Senate Audit To Begin
Piles of shredded ballots were located today in a dumpster in Maricopa County Arizona. This find occurs only days before the Senate’s audit of the county’s 2020 election results is due to start.

For months the Board of Supervisors in Maricopa County have blocked and delayed any independent audit performed by the Arizona Senate of the County’s results in the 2020 Presidential election. As we’ve reported previously, after being subpoenaed by the Arizona Senate and then suing the Senate to prevent a Senate audit of their 2020 election results, the Maricopa County Board of Supervisors (MCBOS) agreed to have an audit if they could pick the auditors. The two firms they picked they claimed were the only two who were certified by the governmental body the US Election Assistance Commission (EAC). However, we found that these firms were not certified at the time they were selected by the MCBOS:

Much more felonious shenanigans transpired and then, the adults had enough:

This is when the Arizona Senate said enough and passed a bill that would grant the Arizona legislature the authority to subpoena election records like ballots and tabulating equipment and ignore any laws to the contrary.

The Senate is now in the process of selecting an auditor(s) to perform their audit. As the day for their audit approaches the heat must have gotten too hot for those guarding the ballots in Maricopa County.

Today some other interested individuals in the county stopped by the same facility and found huge piles of ballots in the dumpster outside the facility.

Someone ordered the ballots be shredded.

Lots more at the site including copious photos - here is just one:

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The FBI is not showing any interest in investigating this.  The media is silent.  They are getting away with egregious ballot fraud - a felony.

The only good news out of this is that Arizona is rapidly filling up with the best and brightest from across our Southern borders - looking at quite the crime wave starting in 3... 2...  I pity the people who live there but they voted these people in office and this is the consequence.

Consequences?  You do know about consequences don't you? Every action has them.
You voted for these people then these are your consequences.  Simple as that.

Nothing happenin' - time for coffee

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Working at home on some stuff. Woke up early and using the time for paperwork and general cleaning.

Time to take a break and have some coffee and read for a while - still on Python.  Getting into the logic and decision-making parts - more my speed. So far, an interesting language - I can see why it is so widespread.  My reason for learning it is that there are so many decent libraries for the Raspberry Pi ecosystem.  Want to attach a sensor or a display, include the library and you only need to make a few calls to use it. Want to do a couple projects here so this will be a good learning experience.

May head to Bellingham later today - get another load from the storage unit and do some retail therapy.

Looks like there might be a new volcano happening there. The Reykjavik Grapevine has the news you need:

How to Pronounce Icelandic Volcano: Þráinsskjaldarhraun
If there is something you can rely on in Iceland, it’s that there will eventually be a volcano eruption somewhere—and the name of it will be impossible for the rest of the world to pronounce.

But we want to help, so welcome to Grapevine’s Science Lab where we will teach you to pronounce the words circulating around this possible eruption. Our guinea pig today is John Pearson, an experienced ex-BBC radio professional, who tries to get his English-speaking mouth around the news anchor’s worst nightmare.

Þráinsskjaldarhraun – Thrainn Shield Lava
Fagradalsfjall – Beautiful Valley Mountain
Sundhnjúkagígaröð – Channel Mountain Crater Series

There is a good video at the site so you can practice along with John.

Gee - I wonder why

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From The Jerusalem Post:

Pfizer CEO's Israel visit cancelled because he is unvaccinated
Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla has cancelled his expected visit to Israel, after it turned out he was not vaccinated against coronavirus, N12 reported Friday.

The report noted that Bourla, as well as members of the delegation that was meant to accompany him during his visit, have not received the second dose of the vaccine.

As a result, it was decided to delay the visit by several days, which also posed a logistic challenge because of the upcoming Israeli elections.

Bourla said in December that he has not yet received the vaccine yet because he does not want to "cut in line," and would wait until his age group is next in line for getting vaccinated. As such, he has received the first dose, but not the second one yet.

Not a matter of cutting in line.  He should have been one of the first - right up there with the scientists and lab rats who made the vaccine initially.

There is a long standing tradition in the tech world - you use your own product well before it is released as a product to the general public. It is called "eating your own dog food".

μολὼν λαβέ - an update

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Same challenge - 2,500 years later:

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 μολὼν λαβέ?  Molon Labe

Gorgeous sunset tonight

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Dramatic - got a front moving through so lots of Sturm und Drang in the sky:

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Two numbers - compare and contrast

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A snapshot of the video of *resident Biden's inauguration 30 days ago versus a snapshot of the video of President Trump's speech at the CPAC convention one hour ago:

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*resident Biden garnered 16K views for the video of his inauguration.  This is for one month after the video was posted online.  President Trump garnered 159K views for the video of his speech at CPAC - at the time of this snapshot, the video had been online for one hour.

I think that anyone can see the fundamental difference between the two.

Gorgeous town and the home of Cornell University. From the Cornell Sun:

Ithaca Police Officers Grapple With Department Overhaul
Mayor Svante Myrick ’09 announced on Feb. 22 a proposal to end the current version of the Ithaca Police Department and to reimagine public safety — but the IPD said it had not been adequately informed before its release.

During last week’s Common Council Committee of the Whole and Reimagining Public Safety Collaborative meetings, Myrick apologized to the IPD for speaking to the magazine GQ before the IPD and to the members of the Common Council. IPD officers said they found out about the details of the proposal through the GQ article rather than from Myrick himself.

“I want to reiterate my sincere apology for both speaking to the reporter [from GQ] before speaking to the Police Union about this recommendation and realizing … the timing, the tone was inappropriate,” Myrick said in the Reimagining Public Safety meeting on Thursday.

The GQ article can be found here:

The Most Ambitious Effort Yet to Reform Policing May Be Happening In Ithaca, New York
It’s been nine months since the George Floyd protests thrust “Defund the Police'' and other abolitionist rhetoric into mainstream political discourse, yet the results have been meager so far. While some municipalities have sliced significant chunks from their police budgets—$150 million in both Los Angeles and Austin, Texas—a Bloomberg News review found that about half of the nation’s largest cities saw their 2021 police budgets either increase or stay the same. Of those departments that have cut back police funding, the Associated Press found, defunding has been modest, not monumental.

Yet even as mainstream political operatives have declared the concept a political loser—just last week President Biden reiterated his opposition to defunding during a CNN town hall—a handful of cities have significantly reexamined the role of their police. In Berkeley, Ca., armed officers no longer conduct traffic stops or respond to mental health and homelessness calls. Portland ended the deployment of “school resource officers,” long linked to the criminalization of Black and brown youth and the so-called school-to-prison pipeline.

And now, in a proposal announced today, the mayor of Ithaca, NY will attempt the most radical reimagining of policing in the post-George Floyd era so far: abolishing the city’s police department as currently constructed and replacing it with a reimagined city agency.

In a nearly 100-page report obtained by GQ, Mayor Svante Myrick will propose replacing the city’s current 63-officer, $12.5 million a year department with a “Department of Community Solutions and Public Safety” which would include armed “public safety workers” and unarmed “community solution workers,” all of whom will report to a civilian director of public safety instead of a police chief. Under the proposal, all current officers would have to re-apply for a position with the new department.

This is not good public policy. This is a utopian wet dream and it wil blow up in their faces.  Good and hard. Ithaca has a population of around 30,000 citizens. This will raise crime and encourage liberals to move there.  And the downward spiral commences.  Another example of something that "sounds good" instead of something that actually "does good". The good citizens of Ithaca voted this moron into office - let them deal with his idiocy...

Busy day - new business

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Got the paperwork done at the bank.  The Blacksmithing business is about this --><-- close from being open. Exploring two options for a shop and should be up and running by summer. Heading North to Costco and the food coop. Back in a couple of hours.

From Conservative Treehouse - a bit of a read but well worth your time:

Team Obama Continues Clearing the Field, Andrew Cuomo, Then Watch for Clinton, Perhaps Newsom
Many people have asked why the media is suddenly willing to call out New York Governor Andrew Cuomo. What changed? Why this willingness to support the accusations of sexual harassment against women? Why do democrats seemingly select targets and sometimes protect others? What is the distinction?

Within the answer to these and other similar questions, there is a history – a backstory – that only a handful of people genuinely understand. The answers boil down to the less discussed issue of ideological camps and the modern alignment that has taken place over the past decade. The most visible reference point for the inflection point was the 2008 primary contest between Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama.

Throughout the first decade of this millennium there was an ideological shift, an inflection point, that became most clear in the rise of a little known state representative who was appointed to become a Senator from Illinois, his name was Barack Obama.  In the background of Obama’s rise the people who were designing the modern political left were/are hardline revolutionary communist types.

Much much more at the site - this is classical communism and we are seeing the start of the purges. They eat their own over the smallest details of ideology. A really good understanding of the power behind the scenes - how it came to be and what is happening now.

Delusional - New York City

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The whole place is just toxic.  They are suffering from poor leadership on a city and state-wide level.
From FOX News:

NYC sees 75% jump in February shootings; de Blasio insists: 'We are the safest big city in America'
New York City saw a 75% jump in shootings this February compared to last, despite a slowdown in reported murders and felony assaultd, as the city’s and state’s top officials seem at odds over Big Apple crime and safety.

The New York Police Department (NYPD) recorded 77 shootings in February compared to the 44 reported during the same month last year, police officials announced Thursday. Meanwhile, February saw one less murder this year, with 21, and a decrease in felonious murders by just under 8%, the department said.

And quoting the soon-to-be-ex governor:

"It's teetering, to use a word. Crime is way up. Homelessness is way up. Many people have left New York City," he said during a news conference Wednesday. "We have to get New York City functional again and safe again. And viable again. And we have to do that quickly."  

Yeah - it's bad.  How about doing something about it Fredo? Don't just stand there and bloviate, do something.

A peek behind the curtain - WOKE

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Interesting - David Shor is one of the big brains of the progressives.  He is currently head of data science with OpenData, a progressive nonprofit and presently serves as a Senior Fellow with the Center for American Progress Action Fund. He was the key person in the Obama campaign watching and analyzing the polling data in Chicago. The guy's political perspective is warped but he is otherwise a very very smart cookie. When you lose someone like him, you need to seriously reevaluate what you are doing.  From Reason:

Woke Excess Causes Minority Voters To Flee the Democratic Party
While the Democratic Party pulled off a complete (albeit narrow) victory over Donald Trump and the Republican Party in 2020, they lost ground with nonwhite voters—despite significantly raising the salience of racial justice issues during the campaign.

According to progressive pollster David Shor, it's time to face the facts: The cultural views of very highly-educated, very left-leaning white people are toxic for many nonwhite voters who would otherwise support the Democratic Party.

"I don't think a lot of people expected Donald Trump's GOP to have a much more diverse support base than Mitt Romney's did in 2012," Shor told New York magazine in a recent interview. "But that's what happened."

Shor pointed to two specific associations—socialism and the "defund the police" movement—that appear to have tarnished the Democratic Party in the eyes of minority voters. The former is an unsurprising finding, and something I've written on previously: Socialism is generally not popular with Hispanic voters, who associate it with the kind of political oppression experienced by people in Venezuela and Cuba.

But the latter is also noteworthy, given that "defund the police" is a mantra recited by progressive activists who purport to represent the wishes of racial minorities. These activists claim, for instance, that the role of police in society is to defend or legitimize America's white supremacist culture. In other words, activists want to defund the police because they think doing so is a necessary component of antiracist organizing.

The trouble is that many racial minorities don't actually share that view.

That old problem about the narrative not being the truth.

You may push the narrative but don't expect the majority of us to believe it.

This guy is going down - the latest from The Wall Street Journal:

Cuomo Advisers Altered Report on Covid-19 Nursing-Home Deaths
New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s top advisers successfully pushed state health officials to strip a public report of data showing that more nursing-home residents had died of Covid-19 than the administration had acknowledged, according to people with knowledge of the report’s production.

The July report, which examined the factors that led to the spread of the virus in nursing homes, focused only on residents who died inside long-term-care facilities, leaving out those who had died in hospitals after becoming sick in nursing homes. As a result, the report said 6,432 nursing-home residents had died—a significant undercount of the death toll attributed to the state’s most vulnerable population, the people said. The initial version of the report said nearly 10,000 nursing-home residents had died in New York by July last year, one of the people said.

He was getting too popular, too powerful and too close to the reigns of power.  There was even talk last year about him as a Presidential cantidate. The elites in the swamp decided that he needed to go away - he was too close to taking over one of their own positions at the trough.

A simple truth from reired journalist Don Surber:

ITEM 2: The Washington Free Beacon reported, "The CEO of CNN's parent company said on Thursday that the coronavirus pandemic will continue to dominate the news network's coverage because it's 'really good for ratings.' "

WarnerMedia CEO Jason Kilar said, "It turns out the pandemic is a pretty big part of the news cycle and that's not going away anytime soon. It turns out it's really good for ratings."

No wonder the media cuts off anyone who dares challenge the masks and the social distancing.

What's good for WarnerMedia and its owner AT&T isn't necessarily good for America.

Yeah - at least they are being honest about their bias.  Pity this does not extend to their reporting.

A fourth and that is it for me

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One more meme and then some videos - full day tomorrow. 

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The absolute truth. Name one. Change my mind.

Three memes for the evening

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From Woodsterman - he is on fire tonight:

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A ring of truth - transcript

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There is growing evidence of a massive level of corruption in our government. This transcript from L Lin Wood explains a lot of people's actions if true.  It has the ring of truth and it will be interesting to see where it goes.  I do hope that Mr. Wood is not Arkancided. For this whistleblower to come forward took a lot of courage - my hope is that many more will come forward as well and corroborate this story.

We as a nation need the dam to break, the deluge to happen and the healing to begin.

From Populist Press:

From Lin Wood:
Let’s get the day started with a big BANG of truth. Below is the transcription of the entire taped interview conducted with the brave whistleblower who speaks credibly about crimes committed at the highest levels of our government. He speaks at risk of his life and the life of his family. He consented to this public revelation of his truth.

You can judge for yourself whether the claims of the whistleblower must be investigated by law enforcement. I spent several days with him. I am convinced a thorough law enforcement investigation is demanded.

You may now review this evidence and come to your own conclusions.

I think this transcript should be shared far and wide. What do you think?

FULL Transcript of Whistleblower Interview

And for everyone who calls Lin Wood crazy - he has had a 40+ year successful career of suing people for defamation and libel.  He would not be publicizing this if he did not have the goods to back it up. And yes, I downloaded a copy of the 191 pages for safe keeping. I suspect this source will disappear but the Internet is forever...

This quote comes to mind:

To quote Tyrion Lannister from the Game of Thrones,
"When you tear out a man's tongue, you are not proving him a liar.
You're only telling the world that you fear what he might say."

Blatant censorship - YouTube

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President Trump's wonderful speech at the CPAC convention?

Purged.  From Legal Insurrection:

YouTube Purges Trump’s CPAC Speech, Suspends Right Side Broadcasting For Posting It
YouTube suspended Right Side Broadcasting Network’s (RSBN) account for two weeks over President Donald Trump’s CPAC speech and then removed the video.

The video had almost four million views. RSBN also said the video has disappeared from other YouTube accounts.

I searched “Trump 2021 CPAC Speech” on YouTube.

I found snippets of the speech, highlights, news reports on the speech, and outtakes from late-night shows.

I cannot find Trump’s 2021 CPAC speech.

Much more at the site.  It is not just within the United States - from Russia Today:

YouTube REMOVES video of Trump’s CPAC speech from RT channels – yet it’s ok with the SAME video posted by Western outlets
Having a video of former US President Donald Trump’s speech at CPAC may get you warnings and a deletion from YouTube, but apparently only if you’re RT, as the platform seems to selectively apply its arbitrary and capricious rules.

On Tuesday, RT and its German-language channel RT DE got a notice from YouTube that the video of Trump speaking at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) in Florida on Sunday was being flagged for a “strike” under the platform’s rules on “supporting the 2020 US presidential election” announced in December. 

Well, when channels like YouTube pull shit like this, there are alternative platforms.

Link here to RUMBLE

Back home - no Thai tonight

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Did not feel like stopping.  Fixing some tuna with pasta for dinner.

Productive day.

Heading north - bank, other stuff.  Maybe even Thai food.

The rain has returned - short intense shower.

Two memes

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From The Intercept:

MITCH MCCONNELL WORKING WITH KENTUCKY LEGISLATURE ON SENATE EXIT STRATEGY
Senate minority leader Mitch McConnell has compiled a short list of successors in his home state of Kentucky, preparing for the possibility that he does not serve out his full term, Kentucky Republicans tell The Intercept.

The list is topped by his protégé, state Attorney General Daniel Cameron, and also includes former United Nations Ambassador Kelly Craft, whose billionaire coal magnate husband is a major McConnell donor, as well as Kentucky Secretary of State Michael Adams, a former McConnell Scholar.

Don't see anything about this on other sites but this is not unexpected. Both he and his wife are dirty. Get out before they start prosecution.

Such wonderful people

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Looks like Iran is being an asshole again.  No strength in the White House, why should they moderate their behavior. Just like a six-year old child. From The Jerusalem Post:

Mediterranean oil spill is ‘eco-terrorism’ by Iran, Israel says
Iran intentionally polluted the Mediterranean Sea and Israel’s shores in an act of ecological terrorism, causing the greatest environmental disaster in Israel’s history, Environmental Protection Minister Gila Gamliel said on Wednesday.

“This pollution has people who are responsible for it and have to pay the price. Our nature is damaged, our animals are harmed, thanks to merciless environmental criminals,” Gamliel said.

And of course, Iran is stepping up to the plate and helping to clean this up in 3... 2...  - - crickets - -

8.1 Magnitude. Information at the USGS website.

No Tsunami is expected - it was pretty deep.

And the usual morning routine

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Recieved the registration from WA State for my new blacksmithing business - time to get it off the ground and running. Doing some paperwork today as well as some errands later. Get the website up. Glad I took a couple days off to take care of these things - was planning to just have Monday and Tuesday off but taking the entire week.

Gorgeous day yesterday - looks to me nice today as well. Supposed to have rain moving in later though.

Now? Dog run, coffee, read for a while - more Python. Getting into the logic handling/decision making parts - my strength. Looked at MicroPython and decided against it - stick with the full implementation on a Raspberry Pi.

Back in a few...

Quote of the month:

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“You don’t understand the class structure of American society,” said Smetana, “or you would not ask such a question. In the United States, the working class are Democrats. The middle class are Republicans. The upper class are Communists.”
--Whitaker Chambers, Witness (1952)

Tales from the swamp

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From United Press International:

IG report finds evidence of ethics violations against Elaine Chao
Former Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao used her office to boost the reputation of her family's shipping business, the agency's internal watchdog said in a report released Wednesday.

The Department of Transportation Office of Inspector General's report states that Chao took part in four kinds of ethics violations including planning to bring relatives on an official trip to China, requiring Department of Transportation public affairs staff to promote her father's book and using agency staff and resources to complete personal tasks.

"The DOT Inspector General's report, in addition to documents we obtained, demonstrate that Secretary Chao used her official position and taxpayer resources for the benefit of herself and her family," Rep. Carolyn Maloney, D-N.Y., chair of the House committee on oversight and reform, said in a statement. "Secretary Chao's flagrant abuse of her office provides further evidence that additional ethics and transparency reforms are needed."

Remember that Elaine Chao is the wife of Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky. Mitch's betrayal of President Trump becomes clearer.

There has got to be some serious cognitive dissonance happening in liberal minds over this (as well as other nations' treatment of gays and women, the truth about "global warming", the truth about alt.energy, etc...).

From Forbes:

Study Links Nike, Adidas And Apple To Forced Uighur Labor
Nike, Adidas, Apple, Microsoft and Samsung are among 83 multinationals that have been linked to forced labor by Uighurs in factories across China, according to a new study by the Australian Strategic Policy Institute (ASPI). According to the researchers, Uighurs, a persecuted ethnic minority from China’s western Xinjiang region, have been funneled to work in factories in other provinces under conditions “that strongly suggest forced labour.”

The report estimates that more than 80,000 Uighurs were transferred to work in factories across China between 2017 and 2019. The period coincides with China’s campaign of mass internment of ethnic minorities in Xinjiang, which the government says is needed to root out terrorism and separatism. Some Uighurs have allegedly been placed in these factories straight from the internment camps in Xinjiang, where experts estimate more than 1.5 million members of ethnic minorities are being held.

Although journalists have in the past linked Western companies to forced Uighur labor, this is the first time the problem is made apparent on such a large scale, enveloping factories and supply chains across the country. The 83 foreign and Chinese companies that ASPI has identified as directly or indirectly benefiting from the potentially abusive transfer programs for Uighurs include clothing brands such as Adidas, Gap, Tommy Hilfiger and Uniqlo; carmakers such as BMW, General Motors, Jaguar and Mercedes Benz; and tech giants such as Apple, Google, Huawei and Microsoft. 

Yeah - about that...  Your iPhone, Macbook, sneakers, clothing - all slave labor.  Those idiots in the USA who want "reparations" fail to understand that slavery was practiced worldwide - even among the North American native population.  The United States was the first nation to take a look at it and say: "Never Again" You want to talk about reparations?  Talk to the families of the 300,000 Union Soldiers who gave their lives to end it.

Joe is losing it...

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Biden did a Virtual Event and went off-script. From The Gateway Pundit:

White House Cuts Feed of Virtual Event After Joe Biden Says, “I’m Happy to Take Questions if That’s What I’m Supposed to Do”
Joe Biden on Wednesday held a virtual event with the House Democratic Caucus.

Speaker Pelosi and other Democrat leaders discussed their agenda over the next two years.

After the event was over, Joe Biden told Speaker Nancy Pelosi he was “happy to take questions” – but the White House cut the feed.

Two videos at the site. Looks/sounds very befuddled.

It is obvious that they want to get Kamala Harris in as POTUS but she could never be elected. Too much baggage. They put up Sleepy Joe and will use the 25th Amendment to retire him when his dementia is too obvious.

What the conservatives should do is stick to their guns.  The 25th requires a 2/3rds vote of both houses - they could easily keep Joe in office. The Democrats did this.  This was their grand strategy.  Let them enjoy the consequences - good and hard.  Without flowers, dinner or even a bit of lube first.

Bureaucracy at the feed trough

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Never get between a bureaucrat and the money. They can go feral if they don't get their share.
From Showbiz 411:

Hollywood Women’s Group Times Up Spent Whopping $2.4 Mil on Compensation in 2019, Just $19K in Grants
Time’s up for Time’s Up. Really.

Last November, the Daily Mail reported that the Hollywood women’s advocacy group spent lavishly on themselves in their first year of operation but did little for other people. The Mail story cited $1.4 million on compensation, among other things. It was outrageous.

But now Time’s Up has posted its financial report for 2019, and it’s worse! Salaries and compensation totaled $2.4 million —  including almost $600,000 to get rid of CEO Lisa Borders, formerly the head of the WNBA, after her son was accused of groping a woman (that’s putting it nicely) during a “healing” session. (He hired Kevin Spacey’s lawyer to defend him, but Borders left with a neatly wrapped exit package.)

Time’s Up now, according to their website, has an all new staff, with Tina Tchen running the show. But I also count a whopping 25 main employees, all with fancy titles, and no doubt six figure salaries.

The list of 2019 salaries staggers the imagination for a start up group dedicated to advocacy work. Currently, Time’s Up is shooting fish in a barrel, attacking the Hollywood Foreign Press Association for not having black members. Duh. They’re acting like this is a revelation.

In 2019, Time’s Up also paid Washington DC law firm Arnold & Porter almost half a million dollars in legal fees —  $454,693. (The only good thing you can say about that was that it was a decrease from 2018’s $719,000.) They also paid a New York recruiter $165,000. Why? It couldn’t have been that hard to find women qualified to come in and make six figures to do nothing. At least in 2019 there’s no listing for a fee to a PR firm. In 2018, Time’s Up paid $112,435 to Rally Public Relations.

And nothing is what all these people did. In the end, after raising $1.7 million (half of what they reported in 2018) they donated just $19,342 to the National Women’s Law Center. That was their sole grant. And it was down from the almost $180,000 they gave away in 2018.

The filed Form 990 is full of more discrepancies than  I usually see on these things. There are plenty of contradictions from one page to the next. And what is the point of creating an advocacy group that helps no one but spends over $400,000 on travel and rent? I must be missing the point.

The group’s payroll taxes– $23,287 — were higher than their one donation to a women’s group.

Typical - so fscking typical. This is not something that is owned by the liberals - look at the National Rifle Association for cryin' out loud.  The Amateur Radio Relay League had it's own problems there 40 years ago but they turned themselves around.

My ex used to do plant (the green vegetative kind) maintenance for high-end businesses and had stories about going into the luxurious offices of major national charities and seeing catered lunches coming in from top-line restaurants. So much money spent on themselves and so little going out to their professed clientele.

From The New York Post:

NY Public Library keeping Dr. Seuss books in circulation
The New York Public Library will keep six controversial Dr. Seuss books on the shelves despite this week’s decision to cease their publication due to racist imagery.

The library, which serves Manhattan, the Bronx, and Staten Island, said it does not censor books and will keep the controversial titles in circulation until they are no longer in suitable shape to lend out, a spokeswoman said.

“As with all public libraries the New York Public Library does not censor books,” library spokeswoman Angela Montefinise said.

Good.  I hope that Ms. Montefinise does her best librarian SHHH!!! to the social justice kiddies when they shriek and point and clutch their pearls. Teach them how to behave in a public space. Something they should have been taught a long long time ago.

All those right-wing terrorists armed to the teeth. From Trending Politics:

FBI Confirms *No* Guns Were Recovered During Capitol Arrests
The left-wing narrative about the events of January 6th took another devastating blow.

During a Senate Homeland Security hearing on Wednesday, FBI assistant director for counterterrorism Jill Sanborn confirmed that *NO* guns were recovered during the Capitol Protests.

“How many firearms were confiscated in the Capitol or on Capitol grounds during that day?” Senator Ron Johnson asked Sanborn.

“To my knowledge, we have not recovered any on that day from any other arrests at the scene at this point,” she Sanborn.

“I don’t want to speak on behalf of Metro and Capitol police, but, to my knowledge, none,” she added.

When Johnson asked how many shots were fired that day, Sandborn confirmed there were none except for the shots that killed Ashli Babbit from California.

“I believe that the only shots that were fired were the ones that resulted in the death of the lady,” Sanborn testified.

What makes this interesting is that Eric Swalwell (D-China) had quite a different story to tell:
Talking about President Trump's speech on that day (transcript):

He told this to thousands of people who were armed to the teeth, targeting us and determined to stop the electoral college count.

Out and out lie - President Trump said no such thing.  Not even close. Two more:

Classic liberal move:  push the agenda, ignore the truth.

Nancy Pelosi - Bill Whittle

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A wonderful analysis - Bill at the top of his form:

Heh - switching to Pepsi

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Coke wants me to be "less white" - don't know how to do that.
But I do know how to buy less Coke products:

20210303-pepsi.jpg

Been a Diet Coke drinker for longer than I can remember.  Stuck with them through the "New Coke" fiasco in 1985. No more. Picked up a case of Diet Pepsi at Costco the other day. Do not like it as much but I like repressive politics even less.

3+ Million views and 16K+ comments

Dr. Seuss - Uncle Sam-I-am

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From FOX News:

Hunter Biden probe 'active and ongoing' without White House interference
The federal investigation into Hunter Biden's "tax affairs" is "active and ongoing," two sources familiar with the status of the probe told Fox News.

The sources told Fox News that those involved in the investigation, which is being run out of the U.S. attorney's office in Delaware, are "treating it seriously."

Much more at the site including this additional bit:

Special Counsel John Durham, who was the U.S. attorney for Connecticut, resigned from his post last week but will continue his investigation into the origins of the Trump-Russia probe as special counsel.

And acting U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia Michael Sherwin on Wednesday is leaving his post and transitioning to a role to continue the "overall supervision" of the Capitol riot investigation "at the request of" the Justice Department. Former U.S. Attorney Channing Phillips will replace Sherwin as acting U.S. attorney for D.C.

This is certainly an interesting time for America. I really hope that Justice prevails. I think that she will.

Election fraud

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Just a little one but still, fraud is fraud.  From Mississippi station WCBI:

Notary Arrested, Charged With Voter Fraud In Connection With Aberdeen Alderman Election
A judge is ordering a new runoff election for the Ward 1 alderman seat in Aberdeen.

In the sixty-four-page order, Judge Jeff Weill not only calls for a new election but also finds evidence of fraud and criminal activity, in how absentee ballots were handled, how votes were counted, and the actions by some at the polling place.

In his ruling, the judge said that sixty-six of eighty-four absentee ballots cast in the June runoff were not valid and should never have been counted. Nicholas Holliday was declared the winner by a 37 vote margin. Robert Devaull challenged the results in court.

Judge Weill found many irregularities with absentee ballots. He issued a bench warrant for notary Dallas Jones, who notarized absentee ballots. During a hearing, Jones admitted violating notary duties.

Much more at the site - this is like being infested with cockroaches. For every single one you see on the kitchen floor, there are thousands crawling inside the walls. Good that the Judge is willing to restore honesty.

Dog walk and coffee first. Still working on Python - strings are proving to be a bit hard. More of a numbers guy...

Meeting tonight and got some more paperwork to take care of - taking a couple of days off was a good idea.

It will be interesting to see how they do - I am guessing very very well.
From The College Fix:

New college promises real-world STEM training, traditional liberal arts education in 3 years at low cost
This fall, a higher education institution is set to open that pledges to offer a unique approach to college, one that combines both an emphasis on vocational education as well as Socratic-styled seminars.

Thales College is scheduled to be open year-round and aims to prepare students to enter the workforce and give them the experience they need while earning their degree, said Clifford Humphrey, its director of admissions.

And a bit more:

For one, the college will encourage students to dress as if they’re going to work, and not just throw on a pair of sweatpants for class, which will help them “start taking on the identity of adults,” according to a news release from the school.

Humphrey also emphasized the college’s focus on vocational education.

“The ways we are unique are that we emphasize career preparation through internships required during the second year,” he said in his interview. “The idea is to learn about a specific industry, network, work with employers and employees.”

Not only will the college prepare students for their future job, but it also plans to have a strong liberal arts program. The way Humphrey put it, all students will leave the college with both a liberal arts and a professional degree.

He said this means that all students will be well-versed in their knowledge of both Western Civilization and real-world smarts.

Wonderful idea - get them prepped for the real world. Let them stand on their own two feet instead of coercing them into safe spaces and indoctrinating them with liberal crap-think. But how much will this all cost?

Its website states tuition is $4,000 per term, which “enables students to graduate without crippling debt.” It adds that with its “dual-degree program,” every student will graduate with two bachelor’s degrees, a B.A. in liberal arts and sciences, and either a B.A. in entrepreneurial business or a B.S. in mechanical engineering.

Like I said, It will be interesting to see how they do - I am guessing very very well. 

Website here: Thales College    (Thales?  here - smart cookie)

Disgusting but yet, not at all surprising.  From FOX News:

Michigan National Guard members complain of undercooked, contaminated meals while in DC
Members of Michigan’s National Guard have complained of receiving undercooked meals or food containing metal shavings during their stay in Washington, D.C., to protect the U.S. Capitol, according to news reports, as lawmakers from the state call for a new food provider.

The disclosures -- which first surfaced in Michigan news outlets -- were the latest reports of alleged mistreatment of National Guard personnel in the nation’s capital, where Guard members from several states were deployed both before and after the Jan. 6 riot.

The entire Michigan delegation in the U.S. House wrote a letter to the National Guard on Tuesday saying, "We understand that the decision was made to provide contracted meals to support the entire federal response stationed at the Capitol. However, it is clear that these contracted meals are poorly prepared, oftentimes inedible, and highly inadequate to support our soldiers."

The lawmakers and Gov. Gretchen Whitmer were informed of the food issues in mid-February – and problems were initially resolved -- but new complaints emerged this past weekend, The Detroit News reported.

Whitmer and her fellow travelers have zero compassion or caring for their fellow man.  They are 100% ideologues and follow the party line with zero comprehension of basic decency and humanity.

Dr Seuss update

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Now that the social justice morons are banning his books, some people are making a lot of money.
Also, a trip down memory lane.  Both from Zero Hedge:

Banned Dr. Seuss Books Already Selling For Hundreds Of Dollars On Ebay
Shortly after the cancel mob came for Dr. Seuss, several recently banned books began selling for hundreds of dollars on Ebay. For example:

They show a couple of screen-shots - here is the first one:

20210303-seuss.jpg

And then, lest we forget, there is this from six years ago:

20210303-seuss-obama.jpg

Liberals only use facts when it suits their agenda.  Must promote the narrative.

Twenty five years working for Nike.  She is now a Vice President. She just resigned. From Yahoo/Sports:

Nike VP resigns after report on son's lucrative sneaker resale business
Nike executive Ann Hebert resigned Monday, a week after a Bloomberg Businessweek report detailed her son's lucrative sneaker resale business that flips hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of shoes every month.

“Ann Hebert, VP/GM, North America geography has decided to step down from Nike, effectively immediately,” a company statement reads. “We thank Ann for her more than 25 years with Nike and wish her well.”

Bloomberg's Joshua Hunt detailed the business of 19-year-old Joe Hebert, aka "West Coast Joe," who set up a sophisticated scheme for his company West Coast Streetwear to collect coveted sneakers en masse and sell them for a profit.

There is no indication in either this or the Bloomberg article that she colluded with him but he definitely was gaming the system in a way that prevented legitimate customers from getting their fair share.

Bloomberg described a transaction in which Hebert and his team used bots to overwhelm a Yeezy Supply website designed to limit purchases to one per customer. Hebert told Bloomberg he racked up $132,000 in purchases that day and quickly flipped the supply for a $20,000 profit.

Hebert, who operates out of Portland near Nike headquarters, told Bloomberg that he also gained an edge via access to inside information.

“If you know the right people here, this is the city to sell shoes,” Hebert told Bloomberg. "The right people “can give you access to stuff that, like, a normal person would not have access to.”

And, there was this little tid-bit:

Bloomberg also reports that Hebert provided an American Express statement to verify his revenue claims. Ann Hebert's name was on the credit card.

I doubt a 19-year-old is going to have a $200,000 credit line on their Amex card. His Mom was a co-signer.  What is she going to do for a career now - is Joe going to support her?

There is a TLA for times like this: CLM

Apropos for today

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I love that Texas has opened up. Rub that in the faces of the locked-down states.

20210302-mask.jpg

Just like Mommy or Daddy

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Cute idea and spot on - from Fisher-Price:

20210302-fisherprice.jpg

I love the latte cup. Nice touch.

I am sure that this bit of news will turn around and bite the WOKE scolds in the derrierre.
How can anyone not like Dr. Seuss?  From the Chicago Sun-Times:

6 Dr. Seuss books will no longer be published due to content’s racist images
Six Dr. Seuss books — including “And to Think That I Saw It on Mulberry Street” and “If I Ran the Zoo” — will stop being published because of racist and insensitive imagery, the business that preserves and protects the author’s legacy said Tuesday.

“These books portray people in ways that are hurtful and wrong,” Dr. Seuss Enterprises told The Associated Press in a statement that coincided with the late author and illustrator’s birthday.

“Ceasing sales of these books is only part of our commitment and our broader plan to ensure Dr. Seuss Enterprises’ catalog represents and supports all communities and families,” it said.

The other books affected are “McElligot’s Pool,” “On Beyond Zebra!,” “Scrambled Eggs Super!,” and “The Cat’s Quizzer.”

Unreal. These people need to be soundly mocked. Lughed at. Ridiculed for what they are - a bunch of pompous self-centered narcissists.  Dr. Seuss would have a field-day with these idiots.

Sheesh - Amazon's new logo

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Don't blink - they might "tweak" it again.  Here is the before and the after:

20210302-amazon.jpg

The one on the left reminded some people of Hitler's moustache. Reality is stranger than fiction.

Nothing out there this morning

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Quick surf and nothing catches my eye.

Working at home most of today - starting in on the electrical wiring to the new panel. Finally getting to the dump/recycling run too - van is pretty well loaded.

More later today.

Seen at a bookstore

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From Woodsterman:

20210302-fiction.jpg

Life in the pacific northwest

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I would move if I didn't love this place so much.  Two headlines:

The first one is about how Seattle taxpayers are paying for alternative ways to consume heroin for homeless people.  Great - people who can afford $50-$100/day for their habit but they depend on us for all the rest of their free shit. We need to bring back the county asylums and work farms. Move them out to the boonies - 100 miles from any city of any size, put them through a supervised medical detox program and then put them to work growing their own food. Don't work? You live on prison loaf until you change your mind.

The second one is from Portland.  The take-away line is this:

“We knew that we were going to have a violent protest last night,” he said. “We knew about it early in the week. We’ve been talking with local police, local government for support to ensure that we were going to be safe — and ultimately they didn’t have the resources to deal with this group that came through.”

From a business owner in the area.  Everyone knew that this was going to happen.

If they actually caught the perps.  Arrested them and then kept them in prison until their trial. If they actually handed out appropriate sentences and carried them out, all of this would dry up and blow away in a few days.  It would no longer be "fun" for the 98% of useful idiots participating and the 2% "activists" would be found out and locked away for nice long sentences.  They would not be a martyr, they would be shown to be stupid deluded little narcissists. Public opinion goes a long way with these people and getting a poor one will cause them to re-think their life's work.

Heh - get woke, go broke

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That saying has traction because it is true. Kowtow to the Social Justice Warriors and suffer the economic consequences as the other 98% of the Human Race chooses to not deal with your social neuroses and toxicity. Here are two examples:

From The Hollywood Reporter:

Golden Globes Crater, Headed for Multi-Year Low
Ratings for the Golden Globes crashed hard Sunday, with early numbers for the ceremony coming in far below last year's telecast.

Fast national ratings — which aren't fully time zone-adjusted and not entirely accurate — show NBC's broadcast averaging just 5.42 million viewers and a 1.2 rating in the key ad demographic of adults 18-49. Both are down more than 60 percent from the preliminary figures from last year (14.76 million and 3.8).

The 2020 Golden Globes, which aired in early January and had an NFL playoff game as a lead-in, averaged 18.33 million viewers and a 4.7 in the 18-49 demographic in the finals.

So sad, too bad...

Compare to this event - from Forbes Magazine:

Social Media Reactions To Donald Trump's CPAC Speech
On Sunday night, the 78th Golden Globe Awards honored the best in American television and film as chosen by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association. However the real show, according to social media, had taken place hours earlier across the country in Orlando, Florida at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC). It marked the first time former President Donald Trump spoke to followers since President Joe Biden took office in January, and just weeks after Trump was acquitted in his second impeachment trial.

A lot more fluff at the site.  Finally, down in paragraph nine, there is this little mention:

There were also many who noted that CPAC scored higher ratings than Sunday evening's Golden Globes ceremony on NBC.

Yeah, more people were interested in watching what the adults in the room had to say than watching some poxy entertainment show. You people are paid to entertain us.  We are not asking you for your opinions on anything; just go up there on the stage and entertain us.

This rant from 2017 comes to mind: Dance monkey dance!

Sleepy

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Seriously thinking about crawling into bed. Slept ten hours last night and could go to sleep right now.

Going to stay up for a while - don't want to screw my sleep schedule up too much. Got plenty of work around the house to take care of.

So true - the plantation

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From Mostly Cajun:

20210301-slaves.jpg

The Democrat elite are telling their constituents what to think, what to say, what to do, how to act.
Sounds like slavery to me.

From FOX News:

Cuomo hires criminal defense lawyer after sexual harassment allegations, nursing home scandal
The administration of New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo has retained a prominent white-collar defense attorney as it grapples with allegations of sexual harassment and Justice Department inquiries into COVID-19 deaths in the state’s nursing homes.

Elkan Abramowitz, a one-time federal prosecutor, confirmed he was representing the Executive Chamber—which comprises the governor and his closest aides—in both the sexual harassment and nursing-home matters. Rich Azzopardi, a senior adviser to Mr. Cuomo, deferred comment to Mr. Abramowitz.

He was getting too popular - can't let him any where near the source of power. Send him to the Goolag.

From The Beeb:

Former French president sentenced to jail for corruption
French ex-President Nicolas Sarkozy has been sentenced to three years in jail, two of them suspended, for corruption.

He was convicted of trying to bribe a judge in 2014 - after he had left office - by suggesting he could secure a prestigious job for him in return for information about a separate case.

His crime:

The crimes were specified as influence-peddling and violation of professional secrecy.

We would convict half of congress with these charges. Pity as he was a true conservative. Couldn't keep his hands out of the cookie jar.

A Little Dab'll Do Ya!

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The Melatonin is powerful stuff - slept ten hours.

Time to get on with my day.  Lots happening out there but nothing really catches my eye - I'll do a deep surf over lunch and post then. For now? Dog walk and coffee.

Title? An advertising slogan for this product: Brylcream

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