May 2021 Archives

Heh - the pups

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Someone sent me the link to this photo:
Perfect caption: “They’re gonna know what we’ve been smoking.” “Naw, just smile and be cool.”

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Dang - I know I should not have handed them that much money when they asked to go get treats.
The lil' buggers didn't even offer to share...  Grumble...

That @#$% computer

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Finally downloaded a copy of the Windows 10 ISO disk image.  When you connect to the Microsoft website, it is able to tell what kind of OS you are running and it adjusts your options accordingly. If you connect a Windows machine to it, it only allows you to download the Media Creator application which is used to either do a live upgrade or to download the ISO. Since the Media Creator application is what is failing, I had to resort to a wee bit of trickery.

Fortunately, some browsers (I use the Brave Browser which is a secure-er and non-tattling version of Chrome) can spoof what it looks like.  Hit [CTRL]+[SHIFT]+"I" to open developer tools. Don't panic as the right side of your screen will get very "interesting".  Then hit [CTRL]+[SHIFT]+"M" to open the "device toolbar" - at the top, you will see the word "Responsive". Click on that and you will get a pick-list of various devices.  I used iPad Pro (nice large screen) and then reconnected to the Microsoft website.  Lo and behold, downloading the ISO was now an option.

The ISO is over 5GB in size so I need a double-layer CD blank all of which are in a box somewhere at the farm. I was able to use a utility to "mount" it as though it was a stand-alone disk drive but the setup.exe file would not run. I need to burn it and boot from it. There is a small computer store in a nearby town - see if they have a blank disk.  Otherwise, Walmart. Of course, I was just there yesterday. And, stand-alone hard drives do not work - already tried.

Doing other stuff tonight - looks like a trip to Walmart tomorrow though. Get up early and knock it out before I get on with the rest of my day.

Bureaucrats doing what bureaucrats do so well:   #1) CYA and   #2) take care of Mr. Big
(Mr. Big? aka The Big Guy, aka JRB)
From The Epoch Times:

OSHA Suspends Requirement That Employers Report Vaccine-related Injuries
In order to encourage American workers to get vaccinated, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has suspended the legal requirement for employers to report work-related injuries resulting from vaccinations aimed at combating the CCP virus that causes the disease COVID-19.

This suspension of the law by OSHA does not change the fact that employers may be held liable under workers’ compensation laws or under civil personal injury laws, according to the nonprofit group Liberty Counsel.

Earlier in May, the website of OSHA, an agency within the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL), stated that employers could be held liable if they required employees to receive COVID-19-related injections as a condition of employment and the employees then experience adverse reactions.

A “Frequently Asked Questions” (FAQ) section of OSHA’s website stated, “If you require your employees to be vaccinated as a condition of employment (i.e., for work-related reasons), then any adverse reaction to the COVID-19 vaccine is work-related. The adverse reaction is recordable if it is a new case under 29 CFR 1904.6 and meets one or more of the general recording criteria in 29 CFR 1904.7,” according to Liberty Counsel.

But visitors to the same website’s FAQ section now see a different message, which reads:

“DOL and OSHA, as well as other federal agencies, are working diligently to encourage COVID-19 vaccinations. OSHA does not wish to have any appearance of discouraging workers from receiving COVID-19 vaccination, and also does not wish to disincentivize employers’ vaccination efforts. As a result, OSHA will not enforce 29 CFR 1904’s recording requirements to require any employers to record worker side effects from COVID-19 vaccination through May 2022. We will reevaluate the agency’s position at that time to determine the best course of action moving forward.”

Hmmm... Shielding employers from liability for the experimental vaccines.
Great deal for the owners but it sure leaves the workers in the lurch doesn't it?

Just the headline is enough - FOX News:

Biden admin diverts $2B from COVID, health spending to care for migrant kids
The Biden administration has pulled more than $2 billion out of programs authorized by Congress for COVID-19 testing, emergency medical supplies and other health needs — and is spending it on shelter for the 45,000 unaccompanied migrant children that have flooded across the US border this year.

The Department of Health and Human Services siphoned $850 million out of funds allocated for testing in President Biden’s massive $1.9 trillion coronavirus relief bill, Politico reported Saturday.

Secretary Xavier Becerra pulled $850 million more out of a fund meant to replenish the Strategic National Stockpile of items like medical gloves, masks, antibiotics and ventilators, and yanked $436 million out of other health programs, according to HHS spokesman Mark Weber.

$2B divided by the 45K migrant "children" (70% are 15-17 years old) is $44,444 being spent per person. Our centralized government at work. No accountability. If they put this operation out for bid, they could bring the costs down to well under $10 and save us taxpayers some money.

The original use of this was for materials and supplies for the next pandemic.  The fruits of this spending would be there, in reserve, for when they were next needed.  This current spending will just piss all of our tax dollars down a very inefficient rat-hole. Wasted and yet, they will cry out for more.

Becerra is a partisan hack who is over his head - totally unqualified for this position.

About that Atlanta, GA break-in

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Looks funnier and funnier as more gets revealed - from Conservative Treehouse:

Details Emerge of Fulton County Deputies Leaving Guard Duty 20 Minutes Before Alarms Sound in Building Containing Ballots for Audit
Details are starting to emerge about the suspicious alarms and opened doors at the building in Fulton County containing ballots awaiting audit.  According to Newsmax corespondent Emerald Robinson Fulton County deputies left the parking lot 20 minutes before the building alarm sounded.

Additionally, the plaintiff attorney, Bob Cheely, handling the election integrity lawsuit, confirms the county security lapse is a direct violation of a court order requiring the ballots to be protected and secured at all times.  Cheely will be filing two motions of contempt against the Fulton County officials for their refusal to uphold the court order requiring 24/7 security. Apparently there are also some CCTV cameras and the plaintiffs will be asking for the footage.

Much more at the site - the post is drawn from several corrborating sources.
This little aspect is also brought up:

In this specific audit we are seeing the intersection of multiple agendas. In addition to Atlanta corruption, election corruption and wholesale election manipulation within a region well known for political corruption and fraud, we are seeing the deployment of racism as a defense against discovery of the fraud that was likely perpetrated.

If you put “Atlanta Fraud” in the duck-duck-go search engine (perhaps google too) you will see just how widespread fraud is within every corner of local and city government. It is quite remarkable. Again, if there wasn’t election fraud happening in Atlanta that would be more of a surprise.

100+ comments also make for "interesting" reading...

Better watch my mouth...

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Tip 'o the hat to Knuckledraggin'

Heading out - the usual

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There is a Memorial Service in town today at Noon - planning to attend.

Working at home today - more laundry and general cleaning. Going through the stuff I brought from the storage unit yesterday. High clouds burning off so maybe some yard work too.

Surfed while having breakfast - nothing out there. Very quiet.

True words from a great President

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No comparison really...

Dinner was yummy

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And it was nice to see the people at the restaurant (family owned). Got food to take out many times in the last year but really missed sitting down and enjoying a meal there.

Nothing on the internet tonight - slow weekend.

Having an issue upgrading the shop computer to Windows10 - the upgrade program flashes a logo and then just dissapears.  This seems to be a common problem with Windows 7 Professional but none of the suggestions seems to work on my system. The fun never stops.

I can burn a CD of Win10 but then, the license will not transfer over - it will be a new install and not an upgrade. Trying to keep this as cheap as possible. Do some more checking online... Worst case scenario, I will install Linux and run WorkTracer under WINE. GnuCash has a native Linux version available and anything else? Word processing, email, etc... is fine with Linux.

And points North

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Been puttering around the house today.  Coffee was enlightening and restorative as usual. Picked up the DB-15 cables at the storage unit as well as some other stuff.  Getting it cleared out so it is time to bring another couple loads down and start the process all over.  Feels good to get rid of stuff.

Heading North for some shopping - having dinner at a Chinese restaurant I like.  They have resumed indoor seating.
Back later this evening...

The Georgia election audit

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You really have to ask yourself - if there was no fraud, why are the Democrats trying so hard to impede the audit?
From The Conservative Treehouse:

Newsmax Correspondent Reports Alarm Sounds Today in Building Holding Fulton County Ballots for Audit – Building Found Wide Open
If this reporting from Newsmax correspondent Emerald Robinson is confirmed, the motives will be found in the recent court documents.  This is unreal:

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And a little bit of what we are dealing with:

Witnesses previously said they saw ballots being counted twice, several batches of mail-in absentee ballots without folds (which is impossible), and the appearance of copying of ballots and machine filled ballots.  The initial review of low-quality resolution sample batches found a 21% difference in the number of ballots between what the election officials said was in a batch and the actual number of ballots in the batch.   That is part of the reason why the judge granted a full audit of the absentee ballots in Fulton county.

Again, if there was no fraud, then why?

A simple question really.

So simple even a politician can understand it:

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From My Pensieve

Motorcycle rally in Washington D. C. - started out 34 years ago as Rolling Thunder.
From Legal Insurrection:

‘Rolling to Remember’ Will be Riding into DC for Memorial Day, Despite Attempts To Stop It
We recently noted that the veteran motorcycle group Rolling to Remember had been denied a permit for their annual ride into Washington, DC by the Biden administration.

Then, Rep. Darrell Issa got involved and tried to help them. Well, apparently everything got sorted out, because they are riding into DC as planned.

John Gonzalez reports at WJLA News:

After logistics threatened tradition, Rolling To Remember is ready to ride

Rolling To Remember has finally confirmed a spot where organizers can hold their event this Memorial Day weekend. A tradition that started here in D.C. 34 years ago as ‘Rolling Thunder’, thousands of bikers and veterans flock to the nation’s capital with a powerful message.

A way to honor war veterans who were either taken prisoner or are still Missing in Action.

They have been given permission to use RFK Statium Parking Lot as a rally point.  100,000 riders are expected.
Meanwhile, our very own Vice *Resident wishes all of us a nice long weekend. Tone deaf.

Nothing much happening out there. Been puttering around at home for a few hours. Heading out to the dump, storage unit, short dog walk and then coffee.  Blessed blessed coffee.

Working on the computer this afternoon - upgrading from Win7 to Win10 and cleaning out a lot of cruft and misc. applications that are no longer needed.  PCDecrapifier is no longer supported dammit.  I miss that program.

Longer dog walk later this afternoon - heading to Costco and the food coop and Home Depot for a few things.

Slow news day

Are they locating and "collecting" potential terrorists and crazy gunmen and then, when it fits the narrative, they nudge them into action? Whenever a mass shooting happens, it always turns out that the feds knew about the goblin but never notified the local Law Enforcement. Here we go again - from USA Today:

San Jose wasn't alerted that feds once detained rail yard killer for terrorist books, hateful writings, DA says
Local authorities in the San Jose area weren't notified in 2016 after federal officers detained the man accused of killing nine of his co-workers this week and found him with books about terrorism and writings detailing his hatred of the rail yard where he worked, the Santa Clara County District Attorney told USA TODAY.

The information could have helped local law enforcement and the suspect's employer potentially mitigate the attack Wednesday that took the lives of nine employees of the Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority (VTA) light rail hub in San Jose, District Attorney Jeff Rosen said in an interview.

"The DA's office was not notified," Rosen said, adding he wasn't aware of a single agency in the area that was told this information. "I would like to have known this in 2016."

And yeah - he had a manifesto.  All these goblins have manifestos. A distinguishing mark.

This fits a little too well.  Looks like a duck. Walks like a duck. Sounds like a duck.
Awfully convenient for the gun grabbing crowd.
2017 Mandalay Bay shooting in Vegas anyone? Still waiting on that.

A man of few words - known as Silent Cal. He was prescient with this speech.
Delivered May 15, 1926 at William & Mary College, Williamsburg, VA

Address at William & Mary College
Fellow Americans:

No one who is interested in the early beginnings of America, or who is moved by love of our country, could come into these historic and hallowed surroundings without being conscious of a deep sense of reverence. In a land which is rich in the interesting records of the past, that portion of Virginia lying between Washington and Norfolk stands out unrivaled in important events and great names. Colonial importance, Revolutionary fame, the statesmanship of the early Republic, the great struggle for the supremacy of the Union—these epoch-making stories can not be told without relating the history of this locality and recounting the eminence of its illustrious sons. Very much of this narrative centers around the venerable town of Williamsburg and the old college of William and Mary.

Prescient? These two paragraphs:

It is impossible to lay too much emphasis upon the necessity of making all our political action of the Federal Government harmonize with the principle of national unity. For many years now this course has been greatly impeded from the fact that those who substantially think alike have so oftentimes been unable to act alike. Our country ought to be done with all sectional divisions and all actions based upon geographical lines. Washington warned us against that danger in his Farewell Address. Experience has time and again demonstrated the soundness of his advice and the breadth of his wisdom. It would be difficult to suggest anything more likely to enhance the progress of our country than united political action in all parts of the Nation in accord with the advice of Washington for the support and maintenance of those principles of sound economics and stable constitutional government in which they so substantially agree. All sections have the same community of interests, both in theory and in fact, and they ought to have a community in political action. We can not deny that we are all Americans. To attempt to proceed upon any other theory can only end in disaster. No policy can ever be a success which does not contemplate this as one country.

The principle that those who think alike ought to be able to act alike wherever they happen to live should be supplemented by another rule for the continuation of the contentment and tranquillity of our Republic. The general acceptance of our institutions proceeds on the theory that they have been adopted by the action of a majority. It is obvious that if those who hold to the same ideals of government fail to agree the chances very strongly favor a rule by a minority. But there is another element of recent development. Direct primaries and direct elections bring to bear upon the political fortunes of public officials the greatly disproportionate influence of organized minorities. Artificial propaganda, paid agitators, selfish interests, all impinge upon members of legislative bodies to force them to represent special elements rather than the great body of their constituency. When they are successful minority rule is established, and the result is an extravagance on the part of the Government which is ruinous to the people and a multiplicity of regulations and restrictions for the conduct of all kinds of necessary business, which becomes little less than oppressive. Not only is this one country, but we must keep all its different parts in harmony by refusing to adopt legislation which is not for the general welfare.

Emphasis mine - Coolidge saw this from 95 years away. We are one Nation.  Obama divided us. He and his cronies wanted to Balkanize us. Divide us into groups and turn us against each other so that we could not rise up and stop what he and the deep state were doing. They came damn close to suceeding.

Time to take our Nation back.  Get some adults in the room again. 2024? Vote for Silent Cal.

Well that was fun - 💩

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The computer I am using in the garage and shop is an older one I was using for email at the farm - figure 10-15 years old.  When I buy something new, I get something pretty decent so it had a 2.44 four core CPU and 8GB Ram - pretty zippy for that era. Still perfectly fine for what I need.

It had not been plugged in for six months and I had not used it for email for over two years.  I had been running several business accounts:  farm, blacksmithing, consulting and had closed those entities down and transferred everyone to my new gmail account. In two years, these old accounts had accumulated over 5,000 spam emails.

And the poop emoji?  This machine used a DB-15 socket for video.  I KNOW that I have a big stash of DB-15 cables in the storage unit and at the farm but I could only find one down here and it was the one that I am using for this computer (the current blog and email machine). Had to swipe it and transfer to the other machine while I   w.. a.. i.. t.. e.. d..   for the spam to download.  Doing a major upgrade of Windows 7 and will install Windows 10 after I get back from coffee tomorrow (and a trip to that storage unit). Also ready for a big dump run so perfect timing - the two are less than one mile apart. I will install another 8GB of ram and pick up a small SSD - keep this puppy running for another ten years.

Something I want to get into at the shop is doing CNC plasma cutting which involves some pretty heavy-duty CAD software.  I will probably buy a new system for that but still keep using this one for my email and bookkeeping - perfectly adequate for that.

Quick surf, some videos and to sleep - nice long day of rest tomorrow and monday.

Back to work - lunch is over

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Another late large lunch.  Need to break this habit and start having multiple small meals throughout the day. Something to work on...

Gorgeous day. Cloudless and mid-70's  Working at home, run those errands tomorrow. Not out of dog food, just low enough to schedule a Costco run.

Setting up a computer in the garage - use it to print labels as well as managing inventory for when I get my shop built and start working out of there. Been using this application:  WorkTracer  Really nice.  There may be others with more bells and whistles but this one is really solid and well thought out and does everything I want. I love that you pay your money and you own the software.  It does not need an internet connection to function.  You do not lease it monthly. It does not run on someone elses server. Updates are always free (currently at Version 5.6)

Using that and GnuCash for my bookeeping. Say bye-bye to all the Quicken bloatware (fine for a much larger business but way overkill for my needs).

Heh - the sudden uptick of "racism" has been very good for some people. The founder of BLM for example.
Some people are having a very justifiable problem with that.  From the London Daily Mail:

'She's taking the money and running': Tamir Rice's mom leads black mothers of police shooting victims slamming BLM director Patrisse Cullors for profiting from their dead kids and quitting with $3m property portfolio

    • Moms who lost black sons and daughters at the hands of police are speaking critically of Black Lives Matter saying the organization did not help them
    • Samaria Rice the mother of Tamir Rice, Lisa Simpson the mother of Richard Risher and Tamika Palmer mother of Breonna Taylor have all spoken out
    • The organization of BLM has experienced a surge in donations raising $90 million in the past year following the death of George Floyd
    • Many victims' families say none of the money has gone to them
    • On Friday, its co-founder Patrisse Cullors stepped down as executive director of the organization amid controversy over her $3 million property portfolio

Mothers of black sons and daughters killed by police have turned on Black Lives Matter and its departing director Patrice Cullors over their alleged greed.

Much much more. Cullors is scum. She is profiteering off the tragedies of others. Trained Marxist indeed.

And off - Herculean labors

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Dog walk, a leisurely coffee and then to my volunteer gig for a couple of hours.

Taking a couple of days off to work at home - Wednesday the 2nd is going to be busy but until then? FREEDOM!!!

Heading up North to run a few errands this afternoon - running low on dog food and some other comestibles.

Luzerne County, Pennsylvania in the news again (previously here, here and here)
From the Wilkes-Barre, PA Times Leader:

Luzerne County Council votes to seek primary investigation
A Luzerne County Council majority voted Tuesday to ask the county District Attorney’s Office to investigate the May 18 primary election.

Other council news and then this:

Councilman Walter Griffith proposed the DA election investigation request, citing an on-screen ballot mislabeling error and other problems that caused many voters to be “disenfranchised and concerned about the integrity of the election process.”

It was unanimously approved by all 10 council members present, with Linda McClosky Houck absent.

County DA Sam Sanguedolce was not in attendance but said Tuesday night his office will investigate any allegations of potential criminal conduct relating to the May primary.

The problem being addressed?

Dominion Voting Systems Inc., which supplied and programs the devices, said “human error” at the company caused the data entry typographical mistake that put a Democratic header at the top of Republican ballots.

What is so difficult about receiving, verifying and tabulating ballots - why does Dominion need such obfuscation and that many potential points of failure.  Should be a streamlined process and it is not.  They are not catching these errors, the voters are.

In a just world, Dominion would be investigated top to bottom and not just some show trial like Bob Mueller's two year / $32 million dollar boondoggle.

Absolutely - engineers

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You do need them but sometimes, they simply go to far.  They do not think about the end user or repair:

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Looks like he is going to be cancelled. Could not happen to a nicer tool of the deep state. And, let this be a warning to the other tools of the deep state.  You are not a member of the deep state. Not a member of the nomenklatura.  You are just their tool.

When some issue gets a little bit too hot and when you have outlived your purpose, down you go. No mercy. Hope you invested a bunch of your $417,608/year salary as you are not going to be earning that much any more. No speaking arrangements. No book deals.  You are now a nonperson.

From The Conservative Treehouse:

Investigative Journalist and Author Sharri Markson Reveals How Dr. Fauci Restarted Gain of Function Research After Obama Administration Stopped it
Perhaps the last half of this interview explains why the mainstream media are now willing to let Anthony Fauci take the heat for the Wuhan Bio-Lab leak.  The entire interview with Australian investigative journalist Sharri Markson is well worth watching.  The first major point was how Anthony Fauci was arguing against scientific consensus to keep allowing “gain of function” biological experimentation with deadly viruses.  Fauci advocated for weaponization research in 2012, the scientific community was against it because of the inherent risks.

The second major point was President Obama stopping gain of function research in 2014 due to the global risk of a leak from a lab.  Then in 2017, in the first year of the Trump administration, unbeknownst to senior officials in the administration, NIH Director Anthony Fauci pushed through a restart of the dangerous research.

Obama stopping and Fauci unilaterally starting would explain why the media are willing to step aside and let Fauci take the fall.  Defending and protecting President Obama are the primary objectives of the MSM and operatives embedded in the administrative state.  Now the sudden shift makes sense.  Those in the umbrella intelligence apparatus knew this type of investigative evidence was going to surface.

More (and video) at the site.

Still... Quiet out there

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Got the van loaded and put in some time decluttering the living room and the garage.

Skipping dinner - had a very large lunch and not feeling that hungry - a bit late to be eating anyway. Maybe munch on half a protein bar or something. Nothing new happening on the internet that I can see except for one story that is just breaking. I'll post it next.

Shutting down for the day. Time to goof off and relax.

Quiet out there...

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Very very quiet.  Surfed the internet from one end to the other and nothing.

Turned out to be a really nice day - cool - 64° but sunny and feels warm when you are outside.

Meeting went well - type up the minutes and email them to the board in a day or two.

Heading out to load up the van for another dump run - still sorting through my parent's stuff as well as downsizing my own precious belongings crap.

Pushing back - Bonney Lake, WA

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Great news - from their Facebook page:

City of Bonney Lake - Government
At Tuesday’s meeting, the City Council passed Resolution No. 2937 declaring the City of Bonney Lake to be an inclusive community where businesses are empowered with choice and citizens are treated equally.

Text of the resolution is here: RESOLUTION NO. 2937
And an excerpt:

NOW, THEREFORE THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF BONNEY LAKE, WASHINGTON HEREBY RESOLVES AS FOLLOWS:
The City of Bonney Lake is an inclusive community where businesses and citizens are treated with equal access, regardless of vaccination status or mask usage. Where choice and freedom are paramount for the cumulative success of our community; and

The City of Bonney Lake will communicate with the Governor's Office in demanding the full opening of our city, county, and state no later than June 30, 2021. Granting our citizens freedom from further business restrictions, mask mandates, and proof of vaccination requirements and restrictions that promote COVID-19 vaccine segregation; and

The Bonney Lake City Council opposes any government mandated requirements or restrictions on citizens to show proof of vaccination status in order to access local businesses, houses of worship, or cultural events. We uphold the values of personal responsibility and individual liberties to empower citizens to make their own healthcare choices; and

Love the third paragraph. Just say no...

The whole thing is only three pages - worth reading to see how adults deal with bratty kids.

Not much happening out there.

Gotta get the dogs run out and some coffee. Busy day.

About those vaccines

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From The Lancet - a well-respected British Medical journal
Go and read: COVID-19 vaccine efficacy and effectiveness—the elephant (not) in the room

The money shot:

Vaccine efficacy is generally reported as a relative risk reduction (RRR). It uses the relative risk (RR)—ie, the ratio of attack rates with and without a vaccine—which is expressed as 1–RR. Ranking by reported efficacy gives relative risk reductions of 95% for the Pfizer–BioNTech, 94% for the Moderna–NIH, 90% for the Gamaleya, 67% for the J&J, and 67% for the AstraZeneca–Oxford vaccines. However, RRR should be seen against the background risk of being infected and becoming ill with COVID-19, which varies between populations and over time. Although the RRR considers only  participants who could benefit from the vaccine, the absolute risk reduction (ARR), which is the difference between attack rates with and without a vaccine, considers the whole population. ARRs tend to be ignored because they give a much less impressive effect size than RRRs: 1·3% for the AstraZeneca–Oxford, 1·2% for the Moderna–NIH, 1·2% for the J&J, 0·93% for the Gamaleya, and 0·84% for the Pfizer–BioNTech vaccines.

The real numbers are in the last sentence: The Vaccine efficacy of the Moderna-NIH jab is 1.2% and not 94%
(emphasis mine)

From the Oval Office

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Was raining all night but it has stoppped and the clouds are starting to break up. Cool - 53°F - but might be a nice day.

Working this morning and then have a meeting at 2:00 PM - a bit of breakfast and surfing first.

And I got nothin' more

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Woke up at 5:10 AM this morning.  Usually go back for another two hours nap time but had a full day so got out of bed. Super tired as a consequence. Heading to sleep now.

Very full day tomorrow and Saturday - taking a couple days off after that.

Sleeping a lot better now that I am getting enough protein. Feling really good. Yawn. Zzzzzz...

Idiots - a good question

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From Woodsterman:

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A wonderfully shitty day

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Was at the farm for a couple of hours - the house, having sat almost vacant for about a year, suffered from dry drainpipes.  Little bits of toilet paper and other detritus had coalesced in the drain pipes and dried out. The next time water was applied, they shifted and caused a pretty good blockage.

My small snake got some of it.  Borrowed a much larger snake and that got even more.  D dug up the lids covering the septic tanks as I was driving up and she and I spent the rest of the afternoon snaking it out from that end and filling the bathtub to make sure everything was flowing well (generates a nice big pulse of water for testing). Job well done by all concerned - the dogs supervised of course.

The rain let up as we were working outside. Got a septic engineer coming tomorrow to do a county inspection and certification.

Good evening for pasta - picked up a baked chicken breast at the store and having that on top.
Felt like eating some carbs dammit.

Time to surf...

And outta here

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To the farm.  A few more things to load up (including the dogs) and then I am off for another adventure.

Back much later this night.

Good job Bose

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I have a 50-year love-hate relationship with that company.  They started out with the clever idea of using cheap drivers for their loudspeakers and then, using active equalization electronics to compensate for the poor frequency response.  Under laboratory conditions, you can get a nice flat response this way but you are applying phase correction to an amplitude problem. The issue is that we use phase to determine the placement of sound in the "sound stage" - the auditory space in our minds. Violins on the left. Brass on the right if you listen to orchestral music. Using equalization messes this up biggly.

Bose equipment is used a lot in stage productions - theater, etc... but that is all done with a single channel of sound.  Monaural. There is no sound stage. Their stuff sounds good for casual listening but is annoying as hell for any kind of critical listening.  The guitar solo is not supposed to float around the stage depending on what note it is playing... Their initial consumer offering - the Bose 901 - invented the idea of "direct / reflecting" to side-step around this whole mess. 

. . . ANYWAY . . .

This wonderful story from Bleeping Computer:

Audio maker Bose discloses data breach after ransomware attack
Bose Corporation has disclosed a data breach following a ransomware attack that hit the company's systems in early March.

In a breach notification letter filed with New Hampshire's Office of the Attorney General, Bose said that it "experienced a sophisticated cyber-incident that resulted in the deployment of malware/ransomware across" its "environment."

"Bose first detected the malware/ransomware on Bose's U.S. systems on March 7, 2021," the company added.

The audio maker hired external security experts to restore impacted systems after the attack and forensic experts to determine if any of its data was accessed or exfiltrated by the attackers.

"We did not make any ransom payment," Bose Media Relations Director Joanne Berthiaume told BleepingComputer. "We recovered and secured our systems quickly with the support of third-party cybersecurity experts."

Good - got to love that last line: We did not make any ransom payment

Make it high-risk and painful for these bullies.

in terror and were silenced.  Looks like a tactonic shift in the narrative. From Politico:

Facebook no longer treating 'man-made' Covid as a crackpot idea
Facebook will no longer take down posts claiming that Covid-19 was man-made or manufactured, a company spokesperson told POLITICO on Wednesday, a move that acknowledges the renewed debate about the virus’ origins.

A narrative in flux: Facebook’s policy tweak arrives as support surges in Washington for a fuller investigation into the origins of Covid-19 after the Wall Street Journal reported that three scientists at the Wuhan Institute of Virology were hospitalized in late 2019 with symptoms consistent with the virus. The findings have reinvigorated the debate about the so-called Wuhan lab-leak theory, once dismissed as a fringe conspiracy theory.

Good - the truth comes out. Finally.

How much did Fauci and his cohorts cost the American economy? How many billions of lost productivity. Yes, it is a bad virus but it is only a little worse than the bog-standard influenza. Death rates are only 0.01% to 0.03% worse than the standard flu and (numbers from our own CDC) most of these (78%) are compromised with obesity or other comorbidities (94% - see Table 3)

Facebook should not be the arbiter of social media. They do not regulate what I say, what I do or what I think. I quit them earlier this year for this reason. Twitter too. These sites add nothing to my life.

So true - quote of the month

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"What the human being is best at doing is interpreting all new information so that their prior conclusions remain intact."
-- Warren Buffett

Waaay too much of that going on these days...

Specifically, the Hawley / Braun Bill (COVID-19 Origin Act) which passed unanimously in the Senate last evening.
Short and sweet too - only five pages.

A BILL
To require the Director of National Intelligence to declassify information relating to the origin of COVID–19, and for other purposes.

And the meat of 'er:

It is the sense of Congress that—

(1) identifying the origin of Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID–19) is critical for preventing a similar pandemic from occurring in the future;
(2) there is reason to believe the COVID–19 pandemic may have originated at the Wuhan Institute of Virology; and
(3) the Director of National Intelligence should declassify and make available to the public as much information as possible about the origin of COVID– 19 so the United States and like-minded countries can:

(A) identify the origin of COVID–19 as ex19 peditiously as possible, and
(B) use that information to take all appro21 priate measures to prevent a similar pandemic from occurring again.

Now, let us see what they actually do with it...
Is our Nation to much in "bed" with China that we will try to sweep this under the rug?

And of course, A. F. Branco is there with his Pen and his Brain:

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Such a pompous ass. The State Treasurers from fifteen energy-producing states put him on notice this morning with a letter telling him to stop acting behind the scenes and pressuring banks to divest from energy companies. They are threatening to withhold their state's tax revenue.  Not an idle threat.

Letter here: State Treasurers Letter to John Kerry on Fossil Fuel Lending

A few excerpts:

We are writing today to express our deep concern with recent reports that you, and other members of the Biden Administration, are privately pressuring U.S. banks and financial institutions to refuse to lend to or invest in coal, oil, and natural gas companies, as part of a misguided strategy to eliminate the fossil fuel industry in our country

And this:

As a collective, we strongly oppose command-and-control economic policies that attempt to bend the free market to the political will of government officials. It is simply antithetical to our nation’s position as a democracy and a capitalist economy for the Executive Branch to bully corporations into curtailing legal activities. The Biden Administration’s top-down tactics of picking economic winners and losers deprives the real determinate group in our society – the people – of essential choice and agency.

Of course, Kerry will just shrug this off saying that these are just State elected officials.  They are not as "nuanced" as he is. They do not see the big picture.

We think that Biden is the worst president in recent history.  I could only imagine what a Kerry presidency would have been like - the guy is a buffoon. So full of himself. So out of touch.

An early start to the day

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Woke up rarin' to go so going to make use of the time and get shit done.

Heading to the farm later this morning to deal with a plumbing issue - have everything gathered for that but spending the morning puttering and decluttering the living room and kitchen.

A bit of a morning surf first - see what is happening out there.

Blustery morning - very high tide and wind blowing 20-30 MPH. Low tide is going to be -4.05 feet below "normal" so setting up the camera to shoot a time-lapse of that.

Good day - productive and fun

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Been working at home - just advanced puttering really but getting things done.

Good meeting this morning - heading up to the farm for a short visit tomorrow and then working Friday and Saturday.

Watch a couple of videos and get an early start on the night. Made some more nectar for the hummingbirds so refill the feeders and set up for a time lapse shoot tomorrow before I leave.

Unclear on number theory

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This absolutly hammers home the point source of all this gender confusion stuff.
Not any kind of surprise at all.  Two headlines from Associated Press:

Demi Lovato reveals she has brain damage from 2018 overdose (AP February 17, 2021)

‘I am proud.’ Demi Lovato comes out as nonbinary  (AP May 19, 2021)

99.9% of all gender dysphoria is a form of mental illness.  Nothing more, nothing less. More so with young people. Not as much with older people. Look at the people who transitioned when they were adults - they are genuine. Stable. Well adjusted. Wendy Carlos (transitioned at age 39). Caitlyn Jenner (transitioned in 2015 at age 66). The people grabbing the headlines these days are emotional and mental train-wrecks and you can not simply sew it back on again.

From The Daily Caller:

CNN Loses Nearly 70% Of Its Viewers Since Trump Left Office
Ratings from Neilsen Media Research reported Tuesday indicated that CNN lost 67% of its total viewers since January, when Donald Trump left the White House.

During the primetime hours of 8:00 p.m. – 11:00 p.m. (EST), CNN lost around 65% of its total viewers since January. In the critical 25-54 age demographic, the network lost 71% of its viewers for both the day and primetime.

Ouch. Maybe they could try honest journalism - they could corner the market.
Not like anyone else is doing it these days...

10%? From one of Hunter's emails. Yet more corruption - from the New York Post:

Hunter Biden brought VP Joe to dinner with shady business partners
Joe Biden met with Ukrainian, Russian and Kazakhstani business associates of his son’s at a dinner in Washington, DC, while he was vice president, records on Hunter Biden’s abandoned laptop show.

The dinner, on April 16, 2015, was held in the private “Garden Room” at Café Milano, a Georgetown institution whose catchphrase is: “Where the world’s most powerful people go.”

The next day, Hunter received an email from Vadym Pozharskyi, an executive of the Ukrainian energy company Burisma, to thank him for introducing him to his father.

“Dear Hunter, thank you for inviting me to DC and giving an opportunity to meet your father and spent [sic] some time together,” Pozharskyi wrote on April 17, 2015.

Quite a lot more at the site.  Smoking gun level of data.
John F. Kerry is also implicated (his son-in-law is also very dirty).

The usual routine - dog walk, coffee. Got a 10:00 AM meeting.

Working at home later this afternoon - cleaning house and finishing the laundry I started yesterday.

Noticed that I have been sleeping a lot more deeply the last two nights.  Protein related?

This morning's Lunar Eclipse was supposed to be a nice one - I'll look for photos and post one or two. Big solar flare a few days ago - CME heading our way so possible aurora tonight.  Cloudy of course.

That lab in Wuhan

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And that is it for now

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Nothing else out there. Productive day at the farm and productive day down here as well.

Clean up a bit - living room is too cluttered. Been doing some laundry as well. Hummingbirds are nearly done with their feeders - it is now about every three or four days and this is for two 16oz feeders.  Time to get the third one out.

Working tomorrow morning - meeting with someone there.  Another meeting Friday afternoon and the usual Friday and Saturday morning volunteering. Retirement is for the birds - busier now than ever before.

The moon is causing some very high tides this cycle - looking to do some time-lapse photography this Thursday.  I have tried a few other times but nothing quite ready for prime-time yet. Learning the finer points which is a lot of fun.

Also planning to add a new hard drive to my music computer - solid state drives are getting cheaper and cheaper.  Picked up a 4TB drive for a bit over $300 a few days ago - Western Digital - a decent brand and good quality.

Work a bit, watch some videos, fold laundry and to bed.

Curious - protein

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I noticed that I was eating a lot less protein than I should be for my activity level, weight and age.  My daily consumption was about 15-20 grams and it should be in the 50-60 range. Picked up some supplements (shakes and bars) a few days ago and have been eating 60 grams worth of them each day.

From time to time for some strange reason (Mercury in retrograde?) I have given up coffee. All forms of caffeine.  After about a week, I develop a persistent headache as a withdrawal symptom. It has always really startled me just how fast that headache can go away by consuming a caffeinated beverage.  I do not know what percentage is placebo and what percentage is human physiology but it is like flipping a switch. Headache? Can of Coke Pepsi (I seem to be too white for Coke so not drinking it any more)? Headache gone...

One of the symptoms of not enough protein is a sugar craving and I had it bad. Three or more Milky Way bars each day.  Needed them. Craved them. I wound up buying the grocery store candy-display-size boxes of 36 bars as I did not want to be without.

From day one, that sugar craving has dropped to zero.  I had one yesterday night for old time's sake and one this afternoon out of habit and for the taste but that has been it.  Before, I would have a major craving before dinner and now? Nothing.

Get enough protein in me and the craving dropped to zero immediately. Like flipping a switch.

Our bodies are very curious things. That something so complex can have such a simple stimulus/response.

An interesting idea - UFOs

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Everything points to these being abject bunk. Nothing demonstrable, just sketchy out-of-focus blobs.

Ann Barnhardt has a very interesting idea - they are the first stages of some new globalist narrative:

Wherein Briggs and his combox write my words for me: UFO’s ARE FAKE and GAY
Click over and read Briggs’ piece, but what I really want to scream from the mountaintops was articulated in Briggs’ combox by “Zundfolge”. It’s soooooooo obvious. I mean, like Bergoglio-is-an-Antipope obvious…

I suspect the public is being primed for some sort of announcement of “contact with alien intelligence”. This “alien intelligence” will actually be human and terrestrial in origin, but TPTB will pretend they’re talking to space aliens and the space aliens have told us they won’t let humanity join “the brotherhood of the cool species” until we stop using fossil fuels, eating meat, owning property, etc.

In other words they’re going to use these faux aliens as a pretext for more the people to hand more of their lives, liberties and property over to the Globalists.

I think that Ann is on to something - the UFOs will be hyped and hyped and hyped and then, Contact.
And then, The Message.
All of it fake.  I can see this being orchestrated - I can see the tendrils in the public fora. Smell the brimstone.

Shameless plug

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No signature or other attribution. Caught my eye - cute:

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I thought he was an OK guy - this kow-towing is simply beyond the pale - from Taiwan News:

John Cena apologizes to Chinese fans for calling Taiwan a country
American professional wrestler and actor John Cena apologized profusely in Mandarin on Tuesday (May 25) after Chinese netizens became enraged over his reference to Taiwan as a country.

A bit more:

A press conference prior to the premier slated for May 18 in Shanghai was canceled due to "threats," reported Apple Daily. Fearing an impact at the box office revenues in the lucrative China market, Cena posted a video on Weibo in which he lamented in Mandarin that he had done many interviews to promote the movie and during one of them had "made a mistake."

He then stressed that "I love and respect China and Chinese people." Cena went on to say that he was "very sorry for my mistake" and reiterated his love for China and its people.

More at the site - such a fscking sell-out...  Taiwan is an independent nation. A free nation. It is the real China.

I buy a lot of machine tools from that part of the world and the difference in manufacturing quality is stunning. The same thing made in China versus made is Taiwan are worlds apart. The communist model can not produce the same quality of product so they measure on quantity.  

The capitalist free-market model emphasizes all the Right Stuff: Quality, Production Values, Competitive Price as well as after-sale metrics like reparability, availability of parts, support.

Disassociating from fraud

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Jumping ship and good for them - they know it is going down and do not want to be caught in the wash.
From The Epoch Times:

Company Involved in Maricopa County Ballot Departs: Audit Spokesman
A technology company that assisted in the Maricopa County, Arizona, ballot audit has departed, although state Senate President Karen Fann said the firm completed its obligations under their contract.

The contract with Wake Technology Services Inc. (Wake TSI), a company based in Pennsylvania, ended May 14, the original completion date for the hand count. The firm chose not to renew the contract, said Andy Pullen, an audit spokesperson and former Arizona GOP chairman, told The Arizona Republic.

“They were done,” he said of Wake TSI, without elaborating. “They didn’t want to come back.”

Heh - caught with their pants down. I do not know what will happen after these audits but it is certain that the outcome of the 2020 election was fraudulent from top to bottom.

And the day begins

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Heading out for coffee.  Since the ski area closed for the season, business is off here until school lets out and the vacationers show up. This is our slow time of the year and many restaurants take off for a month or so.  My favorite coffee place is one of them.  Heading to Plan B for some coffee and then hanging out at the store for a little while. The new shelves are working out fantastic.

Up to the farm a bit later and finish the plumbing work - fun stuff...  Found a clog in the sewer pipe so got an electric snake to deal with that.  Tried with a manual snake and it was not enough.

Back to the island around Noon or so - a special order came in at the local grocery store and meeting up with someone bright and early Wednesday morning. The fun never stops.

Happy Towel Day

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Be sure to carry one with you as you go throughout your routine.

Towel Day? Here. More here.

Defund the police? Get criminals out of jail and back on the streets?
Here is the end game - from Seattle station KIRO:

Squatters take over multimillion-dollar Sammamish home, police say hands are tied
A multimillion-dollar home in Sammamish is at the center of an ongoing investigation, as squatters continue to break in and make the home their own.

“The amount of guns, drugs, etcetera that were confiscated out of that place are not for personal use or for any good reason,” Sammamish Police Chief Dan Pingrey said. “I totally recognize how frustrating it is for the neighborhood and it’s just as frustrating for us to be honest with you.”

The homeowner lives overseas, but a few people living locally help maintain the home with routine checkups. One of those workers stopped by the home and found 12 guns, bulletproof vests, more than 15,000 fentanyl pills, heroin, meth, and more than $40,000 in cash.

Sammamish is about 40 miles due East of Seattle, past Lake Washington, Bellevue and Lake Sammamish. A high-end community. A bit more:

“Somehow these squatters who are living in this residence have as much rights as the homeowner. And that’s very difficult for any of us to understand,” Pingrey said. “It could happen again somewhere else and this is where people in communities really need to be diligent.”

Property rights are crucial - I know the owners are out of town but Castle Doctrine should be in play here, not the flaccid response of the police as they are allowed to act. Where is the social justice here?

Aaand it's videos and bed

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Full day tomorrow too.

Fun idea - 50 years later

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From French news source The Connexion:

Renault and Ikea team up to make a flat-pack car you build at home
You could soon be able to ‘DIY’ assemble your own electric car, after French car maker Renault announced this week that it is working on a project with Swedish flat-pack homeware giant Ikea.

Renault is working with American designer Ryan Schlotthauer – whose previous clients include American vehicle brand GM – to create an electric ‘kit’ vehicle.

Code-named Höga, which means ‘high’ in Swedish, the vehicle would be intended for city use, and measure 2.3 metres long, and 1.8 metres high when constructed.

Sounds like fun - the licensing and approval process will kill it in the US. Maybe for factory use. The article mentions that France already has a classification for electric vehicles not needing licenses. Very cool.

50 years ago? Almost.  In 1975, Chip Callenbach wrote a book called Ecotopia and had somewhat similar design. Modular with several options for power - electric, gasoline or diesel as well as options for front, rear and coachwork - tractor, sedan, truck, etc...  Would love to see one of these built.

Great news that they got their pee-pees slapped. From Music Radar:

Electro-Harmonix wins copyright infringement case against Mooer
New York pedal co Electro-Harmonix has won a court case against Chinese effects company Mooer for infringement of EHX’s copyrighted software.

The case revolved around Mooer’s Mooergan and Tender Octaver pedals, which included exact copies of the software used in EHX’s C9 Organ Machine and Micro POG.

Good - No idea how large Mooer (or the corporation behind it) but the award was said to be in the six figures.  Enough to be noticed and maybe enough to deter future copycats.

And gone to ground

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Did a bit of plumbing, hung out for a while. Enjoying a very late and light dinner and a bit of surfing.

The "new" shelves look perfect - just what we needed to take the store to the next level. A lot of favorable comments from the community.

Farm is looking great - D is doing an amazing job.

The surf is up and calling me.  I must go.

Coming back here a little early - Tuesday evening instead of Wednesday afternoon. Looking at a kitten.

Did my usual rounds of the internet but not seeing anything. Still early - guess that the politicians and other low-lifes have not had the time to get into trouble yet.

Raining and cool outside - perfect for a drive up. Very short dog walk this morning as they will get to romp at the farm.

Had my usual bowl of oatmeal and blueberries for breakfast but added a 30 gram protein shake to the routine.  The bar I ate yesterday really sat in my stomach so I am going to just nibble on it from time to time today - see how that goes.

Busy day tomorrow

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Working down here for a little bit, drive up to Bellingham and then to the farm.

Forecast is for rain - joy. Oh well - springtime in the Pacific Northwet.

Time to see what the YouTube fairies have brought in.

Something to look for

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Might be fun if I find a good one...

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Fun times near the farm

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About five miles away from where I used to live - Seattle station KOMO:

Driver arrested following pursuit near Canadian border
Two drivers were arrested one for driving with a suspended license and the other for taking a vehicle without permission Friday morning by Washington State Patrol.

According to WSP, a trooper stopped a vehicle at Mount Baker Highway and Kendall Highway just before 11:45 a.m. Friday for a traffic violation and found the driver had a suspended license.

While the driver was being placed into custody, the passenger of the vehicle got into the driver’s seat and drove off, fleeing the scene.

An Everson police officer spotted the vehicle going over 100 MPH towards Sumas on Kendall Highway. The vehicle swerved nearly hitting a Border Patrol agent.

Everson police were able to spike the car and WSP continued to pursue it, eventually bringing it to a stop using a PIT maneuver.

The trooper's vehicle slid in the mud off the roadway but was not damaged.

State patrol says the new driver of the vehicle was booked into Whatcom County Jail for taking a motor vehicle without permission, felon in possession of a firearm, no ignition interlock and a multitude of other crimes.

I know the area well having lived there for almost 20 years.  Not the road you want to be doing 100MPH on. Very curvy and lots of blind driveways. No names have been released as yet.

Really bad propaganda. Easily found out. But, it stirs up the emotions of the low-information voters.
The kind that "elected" *Resident Biden. From Greater Than The Sword:

20210523-hamas-01.jpg

There are ten more of these at the site. Lies, all of them.  I remember back in the early 2000's they were claiming that the US and Israel was using Depleted Uranium for bullets and this was causing all kinds of birth defects in their children.  Bzzzzzttt!!!  WRONG.  Yes, we were using DU as it is very heavy (68% denser than lead) and has the ability to penetrate reinforced metal and concrete very well.  It is not highly radioactive - DUH... It is DEPLETED. It has some low level radioactivity but it is all 

Countercurrents had a rather poorly researched and hyperbolic article on the subject.  If you know any of the science, it makes for a fun read. Quite the word-salad. Here is one example of the photos that they used to promote their narrative (caution - not for the faint of heart). Someone tracked the photos of the infants to a German medical textbook from the 1950's that had a section on birth defects.

One of the reasons that DU is used is that once we "clear" an area, it is so benign that our own soldiers can enter the area without needing any sort of protective gear.  Again, it is depleted. What radioactivity remains is just Alpha and Beta - stopped by a layer of clothing or a half-inch of atmosphere.

The terrorists lie and as they are not very smart people (if they were, they would not be terrorists), their lies are equally stupid and transparent. Narrative and nothing more.

And back for now

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Shopping was accomplished.  Picked up some protein bars, shakes and an assortment of nuts at Costco.  Had one bar and one shake on the way home. My stomach is feeling a wee bit off.  Very dense food. It is not upset, just having to work harder than it normaly has been and it is telling me so. Too early to show any real changes but I will see how I feel in a couple of days.

Been around the sun 70 times so far and really enjoying the ride.  Planning to stay on this Merry go-round as long as they will let me. Had a nice long walk with the pups along an abandoned railroad grade.  They took up the tracks and the bedding so it's a nice couple-mile walk out and back.

FIxing a salad for dinner and start some new eating habbits tomorrow.  Heading to the farm for a few days - buttoning up a project and taking a look at a drainage issue. Also see how the new shelving from the auction is working out - been hearing good things.

Quick surf and then some more puttering...

Canines and coffee

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Out for a perambulation and some caffeine and socialization. Rain supposed to be moving in this afternoon.

Been taking care of some email, cleaning the kitchen and doing a load of laundry.  Nice lazy day.

Back in a while - Costco and Home Depot after the morning routine.

Teamwork - drones

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Love mine - a lot of fun. Found this at Daily Timewaster:

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As the commies practice autophagy

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Autophagy? A 50¢ word for self-cannibalism. This happens every single time that tyrants try to take over.  The various factions want to be on top so they try to shut down the competition. They initially welcomed their fellow travelers as there was an initial common goal - get rid of the duly elected government and institute tyranny. BUT. Once that goal gets within grasping distance, it devolves into a melee with the strongest and most brutal group wining complete control and every other group being declared anathema to the cause and liquidated. So sad. Too bad.

It is unfolding before our eye in Portland, OR. From The Liberty Loft:

Antifa Kicked Out of Protest by BLM Group
Saturday, a Black Lives Matter group had enough of the Antifa terrorists in Portland. The group had organized another protest march that Antifa had joined, when Antifa again became violent. Of course, they are just an idea as President Joe Biden claims right?

A video posted to Twitter shows the confrontation between the two groups as Antifa was approached and accused of using Black people as shields. Antifa has joined in multiple events to use the event as cover for their violent initiatives.

More at the site. It would be fun to watch them go at each other if it was not happening in a gorgeous city just a few hundred miles to my South.

Historians will not be kind to this era - from the 1960's, Frankfurt SchoolThe long march through the institutions to the present. Future scholars will seriously be scratching their heads over how blind we were to the reality of what was tried and how narrowly we escaped.

A day of rest - taking it easy

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Got nothing planned except for a nice long dog walk (maybe two), lingering over some coffee, a trip to Costco and some advanced puttering around the house.

Realized that I have been running a protein deficiency - only eating about 20 grams/day or so and I need more than 50.  Wanting to lose about 15 pounds (alright - 20) but been going about it the wrong way.  That would also explain the fatigue as well as the intense sugar cravings. Going to get some protein bars and drinks at Costco to jump-start the process while I shift my eating habits.  See how it goes.

Nothing happening out there - quiet news day. Seems that Hunter Biden was quite the frequent flyer on the taxpayer dime. Judicial Watch filed a FOIA and got the Secret Service records for passengers. As they say: Developing

Cool and overcast but warming up - woke up to 54°F and it is now right at 62° Rain in the forecast but nothing yet.

Diversity for meee

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But not for theee - from the Boston Globe:

Ex-Patriot Eugene Chung, looking to be an NFL head coach, says he was told, ‘You are not the right minority’
When former Patriots offensive tackle Eugene Chung was pursuing an NFL coaching job this offseason, a comment made by one of his interviewers struck a chord. As Chung sold himself, running through his accolades, experience, and everything he could bring to the organization’s staff, the interviewer interjected.

“It was said to me, ‘Well, you’re really not a minority,’ ” Chung told the Globe on Tuesday in an exclusive interview.

Chung, who is Korean, froze.

“I was like, ‘Wait a minute. The last time I checked, when I looked in the mirror and brushed my teeth, I was a minority,’ ” he said. “So I was like, ‘What do you mean I’m not a minority?’ ”

The interviewer responded, “You are not the right minority we’re looking for.”

But that's ray-cisssss or something... Some people.

The good ole' days

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Remember when?

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They will come again, sooner than you expect. Have strength and patience.
From 90 Miles

Great job California

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Killing off another small business - from the California Air Resources Board:

California requires zero-emissions vehicle use for ridesharing services, another step toward achieving the state’s climate goals
In accordance with the implementation of SB 1014 of 2018, the California Air Resources Board (CARB) today adopted a regulation requiring that rideshare companies begin electrification of their California fleets starting in 2023 – another step towards meeting the state’s 2030 climate goal of reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions 40 percent below 1990 levels, achieving statewide carbon neutrality by 2045, aligning with Governor Newsom Zero Emission Vehicle Executive Order (N-79-20) and fulfilling the state’s air quality goals.

The Clean Miles Standard, as implemented by SB 1014, requires that rideshare companies operating in California meet annual GHG and electrification targets, which will align ridesharing companies with other corporate fleet requirements. By 2030, the regulation would require that rideshare companies achieve a level of zero greenhouse gas emissions and to ensure 90 percent of their vehicle miles are fully electric.

Moving from petroleum to coal burning and killing off ride-sharing in the process.  Way to go. Imagine subsisting on this and you now have to buy a $50K+ vehicle to continue compliance? California is going full retard and you never, ever want to go full retard. Sure, there will be used Teslas available.  Teslas that need a $20K replacement battery pack.

Wonder how long it is going to take for them to get some adults back in the room.

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Yet another reason the November 2020 Presidential Election should be voided. From National File:

Government Agency Believes Dominion Uses Cellular Modems Experts Say Could ‘Wreak Havoc On An Election’
The US Election Assistance Commission (EAC) believes Dominion Voting Systems machines in Michigan use “modem transmission features” and “do not match the EAC-certified system configuration,” according to a letter the inspector general of the EAC sent to U.S. Congressman Bill Posey, which was obtained by National File. A top Dominion executive reportedly testified that his machines use cellular modems, which experts previously said “make Michigan elections vulnerable.”

EAC is an independent agency of the government created by the Help America Vote Act of 2002. Part of the EAC’s mandate is to provide information and resources regarding election administration throughout the country. While the EAC is critical of the use of cellular modems to transmit data, Dominion CEO John Poulos reportedly testified on December 15 that while Dominion machines are not connected to the Internet, in some places they use cellular modems to transmit results after hours.

“In addition, even if a state purchases an EAC-certified system, a state may alter the certified configuration for state-specific requirements (such as straight-party voting or modem transmission of results). Each state performs its own system certifications, to include those state-specific requirements,” the office of the inspector general for the EAC wrote to Congressman Posey. “For example, EAC believes Michigan may use modem transmission features in at least some of its Dominion voting systems. Dominion has not applied through EAC for certification of a voting system configuration that includes modem transmission, so if Michigan’s Dominion systems use modem 4 transmission, their systems do not match the EAC-certified system configuration. However, Michigan would have certified its configurations of its systems in accordance with the state law cited above.”

These same modems can also accept a call coming in. An outside agent can check the local tally, execute Plan B if Plan A is not working to plan. Plan E if Plan D, etc...  Their whole system is not secure. The basic system design revolves around being able to edit the numbers of votes.  To accept fake ballots. To accept ballots with no connection to registered voters.  To throw the election in favor of who is paying Dominion the most money.

A lot more at the site - more links, links to the letter and other documents, links to other posts.  All corroborate the story.

James Lovelock? Autodidact, Polymath, originator of the Gaia theory.  I was reminded of him when I watched this wonderful and recent video from Tom Scott on reanimating hamsters and the first microwave ovens. Seriously.
Lovelock was interviewed - he is over 100 years old and as sharp as a tack.

The video referenced his latest book: Novacene: The Coming Age of Hyperintelligence which I picked up from the library.
He is talking about his initial paper on Gaia and this line caught my eye:

With few exceptions, the battle of Gaia was a gentlemanly affair. Unusually for a scientific contest, we had agreed to disagree.  It is important to note that, had I been dependent on grants to fund my research, it could not have been done. In practice, all the costs, including my income and travel, came from payments I received for solving the technical problems of government services and industry.

Academia almost everywhere behaved, albeit more gently, like the Church in Galileo's time. I find it extraordinary that so many good scientists should have befuddled themselves trying to force classical logic to explain the inexplicable. But then an even larger number of clerics have done the same.

Both of my parents were academic and wanted me to follow in their footsteps.  I grew up seeing firsthand the effects of the infighting and politics and wanted nothing of it. Lovelock's restrained commentary really resonated.

As for the Gaia hypothesis, I love George Carlin's commentary:

From the New York Post:

Epstein guards admit to falsifying records, will skirt jail time in deal with prosecutors
The two jail employees tasked with guarding pedophile Jeffrey Epstein the night of his suicide in a Manhattan jail have admitted to falsifying records — but will skirt time behind bars under a deal with prosecutors.

Tova Noel and Michael Thomas admitted that they “willfully and knowingly” lied on forms stating that they’d made the required rounds checking on inmates the night of Epstein’s August 2019 suicide

Prosecutors said the guards were sleeping and surfing the web when they should have been monitoring the maximum security federal prisoner, who had recently been on suicide watch at the Metropolitan Correctional Center.

Under a plea deal announced Friday, they will avoid jail time in connection with their misconduct.

They probably threatened to sing if they didn't get out of their part. Tell the whole story.

And, let me be the first to say that Tova Noel and Michael Thomas did not kill themselves either.  If I were them, I would pull up stakes and just dissapear somewhere.

An interesting look at CINO (Conservative-In-Name-Only) Pollster Frank Luntz. Salon:

Former employees of famed GOP pollster Frank Luntz say his work is a "scam"
Republican pollster and Kevin McCarthy friend-slash-roommate Frank Luntz isn't afraid of boasting about his personal achievements. "Dr. Frank I. Luntz is one of the most honored communication professionals in America today," reads a biography on his website. But some of his former employees tell a remarkably different story.

Chris Ingram, a former senior vice president at the Luntz Research Company who worked at the company from 1997 through the early 2000s, told Salon that Luntz's claim to deliver objective data is a "total shtick and a scam."

Not surprised. A bit more:

Ingram said that Luntz does not work as an "impartial" or honest survey researcher but is better described as a pay-for-play pawn in Washington. In 1997, the American Association for Public Opinion Research largely agreed with Ingram's current analysis, finding after a 14-month investigation that Luntz had "violated the Association's Code of Professional Ethics and Practices." 

Much more at the site - tip of the 'ole chapeaux to Don Surber for the link.
Don links to a couple other stories too - the guy is a sleaze.

If he is supposed to be on OUR side, you can only imagine what the other mokes must be like...

Another quiet morning

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Nothing happening out there - dog walk, coffee and work.

Slept in a bit so gotta run...

Chicago in the news - the police

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From the New York Post:

Chicago cops issue vote of no-confidence to Mayor Lightfoot
Chicago’s Fraternal Order of Police issued a vote of no-confidence in Mayor Lori Lightfoot Wednesday, citing poor work conditions and the cancellation of a march for fallen officers due to the coronavirus pandemic.

The vote by the police union, as well as police Superintendent David Brown and First Deputy Eric Carter, was unanimous among as many as 200 active and retired rank-and-file officers, the Chicago Tribune reported.

Reasons cited for the move reportedly include officer burnout and the department’s decision to cancel off days for cops on several occasions — as well as a move from 8 ½-hour shifts to 12-hour work periods in preparation for possible unrest in the city.

Substituting rule by law with rule by thug.  Sounds like a real winner.  The last time Chicago had a Republican Mayor was in 1931 and then, Big Bill Thompson was a real piece of work. From his entry: "He ranks among the most unethical mayors in American history." Not moving (or visiting) there anytime soon.  Ever. Was through there twice.  Enough.

Planning to keep it that way. Turned into a nice day so got some stuff done outside. No emails. Paperwork is done for this month.  Easy day tomorrow, taking Sunday off and then to the farm Monday morning for a few days.

Feeling sleepy so watching a few videos and off for an early bedtime.

I wish - happy accidents

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From America's Newspaper of Record:

Lori Lightfoot Flees In Terror After Thomas Sowell Takes Her Up On Offer For Black People To Interview Her
Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot was seen running for her life this afternoon. Observers said that Lightfoot exploded into a frantic sprint after she saw Thomas Sowell approaching to interview her. According to sources, Lightfoot had recently said she "would only grant one-on-one interviews to journalists of color." Moments later Thomas Sowell crashed through a nearby wall in a fashion reminiscent of the Kool-Aid Man. Lightfoot, living up to her name, went into a mad dash and has not been seen since.

People at the scene said Sowell brushed the drywall dust off of his corduroy jacket and said, "It is hard to imagine a more stupid or more dangerous way of making decisions than by putting those decisions in the hands of people who pay no price for being wrong." He shrugged and most of the people present nodded in agreement. "Well, guess I'll go," he said. He then burst through another unbroken portion of wall and left.

Lightfoot was last seen on a traffic camera charging down Canal Street like a Japanese man in a Godzilla film.

I would not mind having this person as President.  Yes, she is a Democrat but she is a classical liberal and not a member of the shrieking WOKE crowd of mentally ill troglodytes running Washington these days. From Townhall:

Tulsi Gabbard Calls on Chicago Mayor to Resign Over 'Anti-White' Racism
Former presidential candidate and Democrat Congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard is blasting Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot and calling on her to resign. 

Gabbard's comments come after Lightfoot revealed earlier this week that she is only choosing "reporters of color" for one-on-one interviews.

"Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot announced Wednesday that she will grant one-on-one interviews to mark the two-year anniversary of her inauguration solely to journalists of color, saying she has been struck by the “overwhelmingly” white press corps in Chicago," USA Today reports. "Lightfoot’s choice was made public late Tuesday when longtime WMAQ-TV political reporter Mary Ann Ahern, who is white, tweeted about it — a post that drew more than 5,000 comments. Some praised the mayor, while others were angry."

If John F. Kennedy were running today, I would vote for him in a heartbeat. It is no wonder that the communists in our government had him killed.

The truth - government

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A great takedown of Rebekah Jones - from  Charles C. W. Cooke writing at National Review:

Rebekah Jones, the COVID Whistleblower Who Wasn’t
This is a story about Rebekah Jones, a former dashboard manager at the Florida Department of Health (FDOH), who has single-handedly managed to convince millions of Americans that Governor Ron DeSantis has been fudging the state’s COVID-19 data.

When I write “single-handedly,” I mean it, for Jones is not one of the people who have advanced this conspiracy theory but rather is the person who has advanced this conspiracy theory. It has been repeated by others, sure: by partisans across the Internet, by unscrupulous Florida Democrats such as Nikki Fried and Charlie Crist, and on television, by MSNBC in particular. But it flows from a single place: Rebekah Jones. To understand that is to understand the whole game. This is about Jones, and Jones alone. If she falls, it falls.

And boy does it deserve to fall.

Charles does a wonderful job of dissecting her claims and shining the light of truth into her lies.

Fabulist. Liar. She is a shill for the progressive narrative. Nothing more.

A real winner - from the London Daily Mail:

Contender for Liz Cheney's seat Anthony Bouchard got a 14-year old girl pregnant when he was 18 and she later committed suicide and the Wyoming Republican's son, 36, has been charged with sodomy by force

    • Wyoming Republican state senator Anthony Bouchard had a child with a 14-year-old girl and married her once she turned 15, DailyMail.com can reveal
    • Bouchard married Frances Lynn Webb in September 1984 in Jacksonville, Florida
    • Bouchard had just turned 19 when he married Webb - she had turned 15 three months earlier which was just three weeks after delivering their son, Tony
    • The senator has put out a video admitting to it after DailyMail.com asked for his comment, blaming the media for the revelations
    • The child they had, Tony Bouchard, 36, is currently awaiting trial in California on five sex-related felony charges involving a 51-year-old woman
    • Bouchard has filed his candidacy to replace controversial U.S. Congresswoman Liz Cheney and has already raised $400,000

Anthony Bouchard, a Wyoming Republican state senator who filed his candidacy to replace controversial U.S. Congresswoman Liz Cheney and already raised $400,000, once impregnated a 14-year-old girl in Florida and married her after she turned 15, DailyMail.com has learned exclusively.

And their offspring?

What's more, the child they had, Tony Bouchard, 36, is currently awaiting trial in California on five sex-related felony charges involving a 51-year-old woman.

The main charges include sodomy by use of force, forcible oral copulation, sexual penetration by foreign object and false imprisonment.

Sounds like a real winner. More at the site.

Ready to roll

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Out the door - dog walk, coffee and to work at 10:00 AM

Been dealing with email and paperwork here - apparently, that fun never stops.

Back this afternoon - had a meeting scheduled for 2:00 PM but a principal bailed a few minutes ago so rescheduling for this coming week.

More spew this afternoon - cool gray day. Hope it burns off - was wanting to work outside.

Serious health hazards over a many-year span:  hereherehereherehere and here...
Throw in some child labor law violations in 2020 (from Time Magazine - judgement was a $1.3 million fine)

Now this - from Eat This, Not That!

This Fast-Food Chain Is the Likely Source of a New Norovirus Outbreak
About a dozen people in Aurora, Colo. have come down with gastrointestinal symptoms similar to those caused by the norovirus after eating at a local Chipotle restaurant, health officials have confirmed.

According to Food Safety News, shortly after eating at the location of the fast-casual chain on 6710 S Cornerstar Way, as many as five high school students and six other people from the area came down with symptoms like vomiting, diarrhea, abdominal pain, low-grade fever, and body aches.

And of course:

Ryan contacted the chain's location as well as the corporate headquarters located in California, but the chain didn't provide anyone who could talk to the family and simply directed her to their website. She said she wants someone from Chipotle to take responsibility for her family's food poisoning.

Have not eaten there in many years because of their reputation.  The food was tasty but I do not want to take the chance. Carelessness like this is a manifestation of corporate culture and until that is profoundly changed, this chain will be a ticking time bomb. They are spending too much time on their shareholders bottom line and not enough on basic training, procurement and sanitation.

From the New York Post - remember that this is the 13th oldest newspaper in the USA.
It was started by Alexander Hamilton. Long history of good journalism.

Ex-FBI chief gave $100K to Biden grandkid trust as he sought ‘future work’: Hunter emails
Former FBI Director Louis Freeh gave $100,000 to a trust for two of President Biden’s grandchildren as he sought to pursue “some very good and profitable matters” with him, newly surfaced emails revealed Thursday.

Freeh apparently made the gift in April 2016 — while Biden was the outgoing vice president — and shortly before he told Biden’s son, Hunter, that “I would be delighted to do future work with you,” according to the emails.

Much much more at the site - emails and other corrborating evidence. And, of course:

An email to Freeh was returned by an AlixPartners executive who said Freeh was traveling and didn’t immediately offer any comment on his behalf.

Neither the White House nor Hunter Biden’s lawyer immediately returned requests for comment.

This is my surprised face.

Been a couple of quiet news days

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Didn't do the beef stew - picked up some smoked brisket at the local store.  This is done in house - big smoker on a trailer outside in the parking lot. Doing a salad and serving the brisket over some noodles. Make a bit of pan gravy to pour over. A late dinner but I got distracted with puttering around the house.

Considering founding the Camano Island Institute of Advanced Puttering. Much needed.

More later - maybe. Working tomorrow and then a meeting in the afternoon.

There are some *cough* irregularities *cough* in Fayette County as well. From The Epoch Times:

Mostly Republican Ballots Fail to Scan in Pennsylvania County Election, Stoking Concerns
A number of ballots couldn’t be scanned during local elections this week in a southwestern county in Pennsylvania, triggering fresh concerns about election integrity.

The ballots, mostly from Republican voters in Fayette County, were missing bar codes that typically help facilitate electronic scanning.

In Pennsylvania, you have to register your party affiliation when you register to vote.  There are seperate ballots for Republicans and Democrats.  I do not know how independent voters are handled.  Still, to not have a bar code on the ballot is not an oversight - this is deliberate.

And of course:

A bureau spokeswoman declined to comment, citing an ongoing investigation.

Why people are not going to jail is beyond me - just how deep is the deep state?

Lazy day - stuff...

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Slept in, puttered around the house, fixed breakfast, surfed and now out the door for a dog walk and a leisurely coffee.  Meeting someone at Noon today to pick some stuff up.

More puttering this afternoon.  Picked up some tri-tip at Costco yesterday.  Haven't had beef stew in a month or so - make a big pot of that for dinner. Refilling the hummingbird feeders too. A nice lazy day. Back in a couple of hours.

A simple comparison

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Seen at Instapundit:

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This is happening right now - from Moosic, PA station WNEP:

Voting machine typo causing concern for some Luzerne County voters
Primary Election Day is off to a rocky start in Luzerne County. What election officials are calling a "typo" is making Republican voters uneasy.

Some voting locations are reporting that when Republicans go up to the machine to vote, an introduction screen says "Official Democratic Ballot."

And the reply:

Luzerne County election officials say it was a coding error with the vendor Dominion Voting Systems that led to the misprint on the introductory voting screen, but they say that is where the error ended.

Yeah and I have a nice older bridge in downtown Manhattan that you might be interested in buying. Why hasn't Dominion been shut down and investigated.  They also run the elections in Venezuela and you know how those turn out. Who is running out government these days? I thought these people were supposed to represent us.

Ran into this and it is true:

The shopping cart is the ultimate litmus test for whether a person is capable of self-governing, the post states. To return the shopping cart is an easy, convenient task and one which we all recognize as the correct, appropriate thing to do. To return the shopping cart is objectively right. There are no situations other than dire emergencies in which a person is not able to return their cart. Simultaneously, it is not illegal to abandon your shopping cart. Therefore the shopping cart presents itself as the apex example of whether a person will do what is right without being forced to do it.

No one will punish you for not returning the shopping cart, no one will fine you, or kill you for not returning the shopping cart, you gain nothing by returning the shopping cart. You must return the shopping cart out of the goodness of your own heart. You must return the shopping cart because it is the right thing to do. Because it is correct

A person who is unable to do this is no better than an animal, an absolute savage who can only be made to do what is right by threatening them with a law and the force that stands behind it,

The Shopping Cart is what determines whether a person is a good or bad member of society

I had always found it interesting when I see an abandoned shopping cart to note the location and to see what is around it.  In Bellingham, there is one spot I drive by that always has carts piled up and it is right outside a subsidized housing development.  Sure, some of the residents have physical issues that preclude walking the five blocks back to the market to return the cart but couldn't they just bring a cart back when they next went shopping.

In my own little rural grocery store, there are some people who will not walk the cart the 20 feet from their car back to the store.  Entitled.  Maybe their mommies will take care of it for them. Fortunately, those people are not at all common. Most people are good members of society.

From the London Daily Mail:

AOC's electric shock: Socialist 'owns a $59K Tesla which she parks illegally behind a Whole Foods near her DC apartment', despite vocal opposition to Elon Musk's firm AND Amazon's investment in NYC HQ

    • Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez bought her first electric vehicle in 2020 when the COVID pandemic made her commute from NYC to DC difficult
    • On Wednesday, a Tesla Model 3 car reportedly owned by AOC was seen parked illegally outside a Whole Foods near her luxury apartment building
    • Her press rep did not immediately respond to requests for comment to the DailyMail.com
    • AOC has railed against Tesla in the past for failing to give American taxpayers a return on the billions they received in tax breaks and low-cost loans
    • AOC was also instrumental in thwarting Whole Foods' Amazon's planned corporate HQ in her Congressional district of Queens in 2019
    • The Model 3 sells for up to $59,000 and is specially designed to travel long distances, capable of making her 228 mile commute journey on a single charge
    • She earns a salary of $174,000 as a sophomore Member of Congress

And of course:

AOC's press rep did not immediately respond to DailyMail.com for requests for comment. 

These stories write themselves. Love the parking angle - paying for private parking is for the little people. Get a ticket? One of her peeps will just fix it for her. No problem.

A simple observation - guns

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So true - Washington DC

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From Woodsterman:

20210519-rats.jpg

Don Surber has an excellent report and analysis of what we will probably see from Israel.
Hint: Hamas getting pounded into the cement with much wailing and gnashing of teeth from the libs.

Biden made himself irrelevant in the Middle East
Hot Air reported, "Netanyahu: We might choose to conquer Hamas if rocket fire continues."

I am not surprised. Bibi knows America and its politics. Biden can beg, threaten, and sob all he wants but Israel no longer listens to Democrat presidents.

Nor should it.

Much more at the site.  Surber weaves together a couple of news items with some history.  Being a Hamas terrorist might not be a good career choice these days.  I think that Israel is going to hit them so hard that even considering aggression will cause an involuntary trickle of warm urine down their collective legs for years to come.

The Israeli people are fed up.

Back to work now

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Done with lunch.  Paperwork and heading out to the notary public as well as drop off a few things in town.  Errands. Basic stuff.

Tomorrow's calendar is blissfully empty for the nonce.

It is quiet out there - nothing much happening on the internets...

Just go here:  Medieval Memes

From  KB, the National Library of the Netherlands

Great comment on the current situation in Washington D.C. - My Pensieve:

We are witnessing the most pathetic coup in history
The marxists that are taking over the US are not the heavily armed Bolsheviks or militant National Socialists. They are not Mao’s red army or the DDR’s Stasi. They are terrified of guns. They cry when they are called the wrong pronoun. They are scared by mean words. They believe working our promotes toxic masculinity. Half of them are taking anxiety meds because college is too scary. Even their black bloc militants are pathetic.

They are taking over the country because, and only because, normal people feel it’s too mean to tell these kids to shut the hell up.

So true - still waiting for the Republicans to get a backbone. Pelosi and Schumer are jokes.

And out for the day - dogs &c

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Heading out for the day - slept fine despite yesterday's nap. Feeling stiff and sore but not as bad as I was expecting.  A nice long hot shower works wonders.

Take the dogs out for a walk, get some coffee and off to work for the morning. Taking care of some paperwork later this afternoon.

Nothing happening out there - more Hunter Biden corruption is coming out.  The whole family is dirty. Julian Assange is making noises about the 2020 election as well. I am hoping that the dam will break sometime this year - too much evidence and too many people in on it.

Sleep perchance to dream

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Take two - couple of videos and off to dreamland.

Working tomorrow morning. Paperwork in the afternoon. The fun never stops...

Curiouser and curiouser

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Looking for BillG to be tossed under the wheels of the bus in 3... 2... 1...
From the London Daily Mail:

Bill Gates 'turned a blind eye to Jeffrey Epstein's reputation because he thought he could get him a Nobel Peace Prize' - as it's revealed they both attended a 2013 meeting at the home of ex Norwegian Nobel Committee chairman

    • Gates and Epstein went to the Strasbourg home of Thorbjorn Jagland in 2013
    • Jagland said Gates asked for the meeting to learn more about the Council of Europe and its work in healthcare
    • They arrived together, Jagland said, but Epstein did not take part in the talks
    • He however introduced Gates to IPI - a think tank he has since given millions to
    • Jagland, at the time, was the chairman of Norway's Nobel Committee
    • Details of the meeting emerged as former Gates staffers claimed he thought Epstein could help him get the Nobel Peace Prize
    • Epstein had already been convicted of soliciting a child prostitute when Gates met him
    • The staffers say they knew the association could harm Bill and Melinda's reputation but they ignored it
    • Gates, through a spokesman, denies ever seeking the Nobel Peace Prize
    • He said he has never attended 'parties' with Epstein and only ever used him to fundraise for worthy philanthropic causes

Bill Gates attended a 2013 meeting in Strasbourg with Jeffrey Epstein at the home of the then chairman of Norway's Nobel Committee, it has been claimed, amid comments from ex-staffers who say the Microsoft founder turned a blind eye to Epstein's reputation because he thought he could help him get the Nobel Peace Prize.

According to Norwegian newspaper DNMagasinet, Epstein and Gates arrived together at the meeting in March 2013. It took place in Strasborug, at the home of former Norwegian Prime Minister Thorbjørn Jagland and Gates asked for it.

Jagland was the chairman of Norway's Nobel Committee at the time.

The boy has a bit of a problem. Not that smart, just driven and lucky.

20210518-blacksmith.jpg

Recognize all of these and use them regularly. Nice bearded axe for shaping wood handles, etc...  The Vee shaped strap is either a sword or some iron stock for future use in the afterlife. Nice work.

The Election Audit took an interesting turn with this little item:

Like I had said before, the election data was being managed with a database and:

I am betting that this last item: "and can even delete or alter system logs" is why they are withholding the access.  My SWAG is that the voting systems use some form of database and I am betting it is some dialect of SQL Server. These databases record every single operation that has ever happened from their day of creation to their last event. It would record if and when the system logs were altered or deleted.  Only an admin (root) would have the ability to read the database at that level of detail and granularity.

Betting that they used a system tool (a higher-power version of something like this) to read the files on the disk directly (not having to log in to the operating system or the voting software or the database software - three different levels). Being able to undelete the database is a major win for them.  The Dominion techs could have easily overwritten the disk with random data.  I have my suspicions but keeping quiet for now.

So true - possession

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From My Pensieve:

20210518-demon.jpg

Bonkers.  Consumed by their hate but they are their own worst enemy. From Legal Insurrection:

Hamas Attacks Israeli Truck Convoy Bringing Humanitarian Supplies To Gaza
What just happened at the Kerem Shalom Crossing leading from Israel into Gaza is a pretty good metaphor for the entire psychopathic Hamas and Palestinian terror group pathology.

Kerem Shalom is the main crossing terminal through which commercial trucks and supplies reach Gaza. The crossing had been closed due to the rocket fire from Gaza, but yesterday Israel agreed to reopen the crossing to allow a convoy of 24 trucks to enter Gaza with humanitarian supplies.

But of course:

So what did Hamas do? It launched a mortar attack on the crossing as the trucks were entering Gaza, wounding an Israeli soldier:

The Israel Defense Forces says the person injured in the mortar attack was an IDF soldier assisting in the transfer of humanitarian aid shipments into the Gaza Strip through the Erez Crossing.

The soldier sustained light injuries and has been taken to Ashkelon’s Barzilai Medical Center for further care, medics say.

And:

Earlier today, Israel temporarily reopened both the Erez and Kerem Shalom crossings into Gaza, allowing many truckloads of fuel, medical equipment and animal feed into the enclave, according to Israel’s military liaison to the Palestinians.

I feel sorry for the poor people there - they are not being represented by their leaders.  They are being used as pawns in a terrorist war against Western culture and liberty. They have to know that when they throw off their chains, they will be welcomed into the rest of the civilized world. Their situation is a perfect example of why central government run education is a bad bad thing. Propaganda, not enlightenment.

And much better

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Could still sleep for another couple of hours but do that later when it's dark out.

Heat up some of the 3Bean and Kale soup and do the other half of the par-baked baguette for dinner.

Not as achy as I thought I would be but definitely feeling it. Need to find a masseuse.

Screw it. Nap time

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Yes it will throw my sleep schedule out of kilter but I am sleepy.

Taking a couple hour nap. Barely keep my eyes open and I had a nice big coffee this morning.

From the New York Post:

If AP really didn’t know it shared space with Hamas, why trust its reporting?
After an Israeli airstrike Saturday destroyed a high-rise office tower on the Gaza Strip, the Associated Press, which had offices there for 15 years, complained, claiming it had no idea the building was also home to Hamas.

If it’s true that AP was so unaware — and the evidence suggests it’s unlikely — how can anyone trust its reporting in the region?

And of course:

Israel later shared some intelligence with the United States. “We showed them the smoking gun proving Hamas worked out of that building,” a source close to Foreign Minister Gabi Ashkenazi told the Jerusalem Post. “I understand they found the explanation satisfactory.”

It will be interesting when their evidence becomes public.  Of course the media will never carry it but word will get out through other channels.  The mainstream media are in too deep for their own good.

And back - productive

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Got about 100 lineal feet of gondola shelving dismantled and in the box truck heading North.  Three friends drove down to help - the five hours of work went fast.  Lunch at MOD Pizza (great place) and then they headed back North while I am back home.  Busy day tomorrow so stayed down here.

Here is a photo:

20210518-truck.jpg

Twenty-foot box truck - the flat shelving pieces stacked up in the rear of the photo?  There are two more stacks in back of them - this is about 80% of the way through the loading process.  The stanchions and a bunch of the hardware have yet to be loaded.

We made out like bandits - this shelving is expensive.  A 4' long double-sided unit, six feet tall is just under $500 for the base model with two shelves.  You want more shelves with that? Plan on spending another $30-$40 per shelf. We spent just under $2K and got all this.  If we had purchased this shelving new, our shipping cost alone would have been more than $2K. New price for all of this plus all of the fixtures would have been well North of $20K.

Today was a day full of win.  Plus, I got some really good employees working for me and it was fun to spend a day together working on a project with them.

Now, to take a couple of aspirin and putter around the house for a while.  Don't want to go to bed yet - need to stay on a normal schedule for tomorrow morning.  Working then too. This retirement thing is for the birds...

And outta here - long day

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Dog walk, coffee to go and dismantling lots and lots and lots of shelving. Filling up a 20' box truck.

Back whenever...

The bloom is off the rose - BillG

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Great article about BillG and his life at Microsoft, Melinda and the world.
Read the whole thing - from Daniel Greenfield:

THE LOVE SONG OF BILL AND MELINDA
After Romeo and Juliet, Antony and Cleopatra, and Pepé Le Pew and Penelope, there were Bill and Melinda. The Microsoft technocrat and his spouse were a love story for the ages.

In 1993, Bill proposed to Melinda: an executive at his company. In 1994, they were married. In 1995, Melinda debuted Microsoft Bob. Microsoft Bob treated computer users like idiots who were too stupid to be allowed to use their computers without a lot of handholding.

Condescending handholding was also what the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation offered the world as one of the industry’s most notoriously miserable human beings decided to become a philanthropist and save the world from all the people who weren’t running it properly.

A bit more:

Forget CEO of Microsoft, Bill would use his vast wealth to become the CEO of the world.

Brutal - just read the whole thing.

Not a good move - we need smaller independent channels, not a hive-mind pretending.
From Variety:

Amazon Said to Make $9 Billion Offer for MGM
Amazon is weeks into negotiations on a deal to acquire MGM for about $9 billion, industry sources tell Variety.

Chatter that Amazon (and other tech and media giants) have been sniffing around MGM has circulated for some time. But sources indicated that Amazon’s interest in acquiring the studio has taken on a new tenor beyond the usual rumor mill. The deal is said to be being orchestrated by Mike Hopkins, senior VP of Amazon Studios and Prime Video, directly with MGM board chairman Kevin Ulrich, whose Anchorage Capital is a major MGM shareholder.

And, of course, the usual:

Reps for Amazon and MGM declined to comment.

I would like to see these media hives be broken up like AT&T was.  Monopoly is not capitalism.  There is no competition when just a few groups own the landscape.

So true - Slow Joe

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Do just a little bit of digging and you will see that Joe Biden does not have much of a track record in politics. He has warmed his seat for close to 50 years.  Actually done anything? Nope.

Given his current track record, we should be thankful - very very thankful...

20210518-biden.jpg

Of course - Covid and Texas

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From Zero Hedge:

Two Months After Biden Blasted "Neanderthal Thinking", Texas Reports Zero COVID Deaths
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott elicited criticism from Dr. Fauci and a host of Democrats when he decided to drop all COVID-19-linked restrictions in the Lone Star State back in March. Now, as states across the country are falling in line with President Biden's aggressive new mask guidance (clearly intended to encourage more holdouts to accept the vaccine) Texas is reporting a milestone that many of these critics once believed unthinkable: On Sunday, the state's Department of State Health Services reported its first day without a single COVID-19 deaths since March 21, 2020.

Yeah - it's out there and yeah, statistically, it is a bit more dangerous than the seasonal flu but pandemic? No.
Very convenient for the Democrats though.

A fun story - microwaves

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A nice ramble:

The links in the show notes are also interesting.

  1. Be a craven liberal
  2. Get a hefty book advance
  3. Ghost-write a book that nobody ever reads

The latest iteration of this is NY Governor Andy Cuomo - from Legal Insurrection:

Cuomo Received $5.1 Million for COVID Book Despite Nursing Home Deaths
New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s tax returns he released on Monday show he sold the rights to his COVID memoir for over $5 million.

$5 million for a book that only sold around 50,000 copies.

American Crisis: Leadership Lessons from the COVID-19 Pandemic came out in mid-October with the virus still going strong in the state.

Crown Publishing gave Cuomo the contract despite investigations into his nursing home mandate at the beginning of the pandemic.

Then we learned Cuomo’s aides kept fudging the nursing home death numbers while he wrote this masterpiece.

The publisher paid Cuomo $3.12 million in 2020. It will give him “an additional $2 million” in the next few years:

Cuomo’s financial records indicate that after taxes and expenses, his net gain from that initial payment of $3.12 million was $1.54 million. He has since donated $500,000 to the United Way of New York State to help with pandemic “recovery and vaccination efforts.”

The remaining $1 million and change has been placed in a trust for his three daughters. They gave him “the strength and love to make it through the crisis every day,” Cuomo adviser Rich Azzopardi said in a statement.

Crown Publishing announced in March it would stop promoting Cuomo’s book due to the scandals

But seriously folks.  This is just another example of money laundering and influence peddling in the deep state. Instead of just giving an out-and-out chunk of cash to the politician (illegal), they couch it in terms of payment for a book. The publisher is probably owned by some cartel that also owns a social media platform or a news media outlet - someone who benefits from legislation that Cuomo would push.

The other way to do this is to give the benjamins to a child - Hunter Biden for one. Nancy Pelosi's daughter, John Kerry's son-in-law, Chelsea Clinton, the list goes on.

From Conservative Treehouse:

Train Carrying Fertilizer and Ammonium Nitrate Derails in Iowa, Town Evacuated, Railway Disabled
If one was conspiracy minded…. A major gasoline pipeline is shutdown due to an unknown computer hack. Two days later, the Mississippi River (I-40) is closed to cargo barges after a major bridge fracture is discovered. And now yesterday:

Train In Iowa Carrying Hazardous Materials Derails and Catches Fire

And their conclusion:

    • Gas pipeline compromised….
    • Mississippi waterway compromised….
    • Midwest railroad line compromised….
    • JoeBama pushing massive leftist spending initiative under the auspices of an “infrastructure plan“…

This sequence certainly has one of my eyebrows lifted.  Curious.

Good meeting - done for the day

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Short and sweet - took 30 minutes and went over a bunch of stuff.  Three motions voted on.

Got the van unpacked earlier and loaded in the tools for tomorrow's work.  Ready to roll out at 7:00 AM - rendezvousing with the rest of the crew at 8:00 AM and putting in a solid 6-8 hours of moving shelving. Going to be stiff and sore tomorrow - maybe get a massage in a day or two.

Picked up two really nice marrow bones at the store this afternoon - the pups are tired from running around the farm yesterday and today. Now, they are blissed out with the bone.  It's a dog's life...

Surf for a little bit and then bed.  I am tired too.

Back home - just busier than shit

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Took care of stuff at the farm. Board meeting tonight plus had a bunch of paperwork to take care of.

Up at 6:00 AM tomorrow - meeting up with a crew to start packing shelving into a rental van at 8:00 AM.

The fun never stops...

And gone to ground

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Dealing with some plumbing issues at the farmhouse but everything else is good.

Quick surf - some busy days this coming week...

Well that time went fast

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Heading North.  Got everything bundled up for up there - doing some maintenence. Dump run first.

More much later tonight.

Working at home this morning

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Getting D's computer ready to roll. Getting the van loaded up with stuff for the dump (and getting the new plates put on (boo hoo)).

Been using Bulk Crap Uninstaller and it works really well.  I had been using The PC Decrapifier for this but they suspended operations and it is no longer available for download on their website. Oh well. Onward and upward.

Head out for dog walk and coffee in about an hour.

We will be scratching our heads over the collective insanity taking control these days. History will not be kind to these morons. The latest? From Military.com:

Space Force CO Who Got Holiday Call from Trump Fired Over Comments Decrying Marxism in the Military
A commander of a U.S. Space Force unit tasked with detecting ballistic missile launches has been fired for comments made during a podcast promoting his new book, which claims Marxist ideologies are becoming prevalent in the United States military.

Lt Col. Matthew Lohmeier, commander of 11th Space Warning Squadron at Buckley Air Force Base, Colorado, was relieved from his post Friday by Lt. Gen. Stephen Whiting, the head of Space Operations Command, over a loss of confidence in his ability to lead, Military.com has exclusively learned.

"This decision was based on public comments made by Lt. Col. Lohmeier in a recent podcast," a Space Force spokesperson said in an email. "Lt. Gen. Whiting has initiated a Command Directed Investigation on whether these comments constituted prohibited partisan political activity."

I imagine that there is a special place in Hell for Karl Marx.  His poorly thought out theories sound good to poorly educated people and therefore have remained popular. They are unable to see that he is dead wrong on most of it.

Bringing a computer up for D to use - she is an old friend and is house-sitting the farm, overseeing the work being done and cleaning the place up.  She has worked for me before and we get along great.  Had a spare desktop so installing Windows 10 and some basic graphics and music software for her. Her laptop died a couple months ago and am not using this machine so win/win.

Working at home tomorrow for a while - doing another dump run and then taking the van up North for an overnight - take care of some stuff up there and load up another batch of stuff for down here. Board meeting Monday night so home for that. Renting a 20' box truck Tuesday morning and have a couple hour slog dismantling 100 lineal feet of grocery store shelving and loading it into the van. I have three people coming down in the store truck to do the manual labor so it will not be too bad.  A couple of great restaurants nearby so breakfast and a late lunch will be fun.

Picked up a nice par-baked baguette at the store and had it with the 3bean (kidney, navy and black) and kale soup earlier tonight.  Yummy. Refilled the hummingbird feeders - they are out in vengeance. Hungry lil' buggers.

Time for some videos.

From Space Weather:

100 Years Later: The Great Geomagnetic Storm of May 1921
You know a solar storm is serious when buildings burst into flame. Sounds crazy? It really happened 100 years ago today.

On May 15, 1921, the biggest solar storm of the 20th century hit Earth. Around 02:00 GMT that Sunday morning a telegraph exchange in Sweden burst into flames. Across the Atlantic, the same thing was going on in New York. Flames engulfed the switch-board at the Brewster station of the Central New England Railroad and quickly spread to destroy the whole building. During the conflagration, long distance telephone lines burned out in New Brunswick; voltages on telegraph lines in the USA spiked as high as 1000 V; and auroras were sighted by ships at sea crossing the equator. It was a Big. Solar. Storm.

The outburst happened during the lazy tail end of Solar Cycle 15, an unremarkable cycle that was almost over in 1921. Sunspot numbers were low–but it only took one. Giant sunspot AR1842 appeared in mid-May and started flaring, hurling multiple coronal mass ejections (CMEs) toward Earth. In those days scientists had never heard of “CMEs,” so they were completely surprised when the clouds of plasma struck Earth. Around the world, magnetometers suddenly went offscale, pens in strip chart recorders pegged uselessly to the tops of their papers.

In response to the pummeling, Earth’s magnetic field swayed back and forth, rippling with energy. Fires were a direct result. Physics 101: When a magnetic field changes rapidly, electricity flows through conductors in the area. It’s called “magnetic induction.” Early 20th century telegraph lines suddenly found themselves buzzing with induced currents. In Sweden and New York, wires grew so hot they ignited telegraph papers and other combustibles.

As a quick heads up.  No.  This is NOT the Solar Storm of 1859 (otherwise known as the Carrington Event).  That was 62 years prior. We have had subsequent storms -  the Great Quebec Blackout of 1989. Power outages happen. What concerns me is that the energy from the solar flare will not only black out the power grid, it will also destroy unprotected electronics. This is why I keep a couple of ham radios in an EMP-proof box as well as some hard currency (can not use an ATM when the grid and net are down).

We are overdue.  We had a very near miss in 2012.  Had it happened nine days earlier (Earth in a different position relative to the Sun), it would have taken four to ten years to recover from the damages. Not a thing we can do to protect ourselves - cars with computers? Dead. Espresso machines with computers? Dead. (sob)

Our *Resident (not him really, he is gone. it's his handlers) talks about infrastructure.
Does anything?

Curious - fractal design

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Top photo - Turkish Black carrot / Bottom photo - Mandelbrot Set

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Looks like nature is reusing the basic design but why - what is the benefit.  Curious indeed...

Unreal level of complicity - from Don Surber:

AP was a human shield for Hamas
Israel Defense Forces bombed a Hamas-owned building that the totally objective Associated Press and other news organizations used as offices.

The IDF gave the journalists an hour to pack before the bombing.

AP is all upset over this. Its CEO Gary Pruitt said, "We are shocked and horrified that the Israeli military would target and destroy the building housing AP’s bureau and other news organizations in Gaza. They have long known the location of our bureau and knew journalists were there. We received a warning that the building would be hit.

"We are seeking information from the Israeli government and are engaged with the U.S. State Department to try to learn more.

"This is an incredibly disturbing development. We narrowly avoided a terrible loss of life. A dozen AP journalists and freelancers were inside the building and thankfully we were able to evacuate them in time.

"The world will know less about what is happening in Gaza because of what happened today."

Much more at the site - Associated Press voluntarily served as human shields for the terrorists. Media complicity. No wonder their ratings are tanking. Nobody takes them seriously anymore.  Reminds me of these two memes:

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Of course they do not want it

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From the National File:

Fauci, FDA’s Peter Marks Admit 40-50% Of NIH and FDA Employees Are Refusing COVID Vaccine
When pressed by Sen. Richard Burr about the percentage of CDC and FDA employees who have elected to receive the COVID vaccine, Biden medical adviser Anthony Fauci and the FDA’s Peter Marks admitted that the number who have chosen not take the vaccine is close to half. CDC director Rochelle Walensky dodged the question.

“Okay, this question I’m gonna go to Dr. Fauci, Dr. Marks, and Dr. Walensky,” Burr said. “What percentage of employees in [Fauci’s] institute, [Walensky’s] Center, or [Mars’] agency, of your employees, has been vaccinated.”

“You know, I’m not a hundred percent sure, senator, but I think it’s probably a little bit more than half, probably around sixty percent,” Fauci said.

“I can’t tell you the exact number, but it’s probably in the same range, some people vaccinated at our facility, and others at, uh, outside of the facility,” Marks said.

Video at the site.  Check back with me around - ohhh - 2023 or so...

So true - retail

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Word to the wise - freedom

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Cows do it.

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Halfway tempted to get one of these from the local vet and mock it up with my vinyl cutter. I love our local food coop but they are very "progressive" - tweak a few hippies.

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Thanks to Robert Stacy McCain for the image.

Very nice Digital Logic Simulator

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Work with Digital Logic?  Check out Logisim.  Free software - looks really good.

Runs on Java with special versions for Win and Mac

Thinking about a project and this will be very handy...

And heading out soon

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Yet another really nice day.  Low lying clouds - Whidbey Island is obscured but clear skies and nice cool morning.

Heading out soon - doing some rearranging at the store. Decluttering the shelves. We have been accumulating a metric butt-load of small loudspeakers so need to figure a way to get those moved out of here.  A few fairly decent ones: Polk Audio & Infinity  Mostly just your basic cheap computer audio speakers.  Price these for 25¢ each and see what happens. You too can have your own 27 channel sound system.

Very quick surf over breakfast and out for a dog run.

So goes another day in paradise

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About ready to watch some videos and head to bed.  Working tomorrow.  Supposed to be really nice outside so working in the yard after.

Made a big pot of three-bean and kale soup for dinner earlier - delicious.  Lots of garlic.  Have enough for 5-6 more servings.  Planning to bake some bread tomorrow.

Up to the farm Sunday for two days - do a couple of projects and take another load back down here.

Just not so soon. It escaped the lab before it was finished.  From Australia's Sky News:

This video was published on May 9th - five days ago. It has so far garnered 20,462 comments.
The media in the USA?
. . . crickets . . .

Hmmmm... Interesting move

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The biggest and most innovative chip foundry in the world is Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co.  A lot of major companies actually do not make their own silicon, they design it and then have a foundry like tsmc make the actual product (Apple, AMD, Tesla, NVIDIA for example). Makes sense - this way, each company can be as lean as possible and invest money where it does the best good.

China is making expansionist noises and considers Taiwan to be a wayward province that needs to rejoin the flock.  Looks like tsmc is leaving themselves a good out should this happen. From Reuters:

TSMC looks to double down on U.S. chip factories as talks in Europe falter
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (2330.TW) is weighing plans to pump tens of billions of dollars more into cutting-edge chip factories in the U.S. state of Arizona than it had previously disclosed, but is cool on prospects for an advanced European plant, people familiar with the matter told Reuters.

TSMC is the world's most advanced chip-maker, and its investment plans are being closely watched amid a global chip shortage and new initiatives in the U.S. and Europe to subsidize semiconductor production. TSMC announced last year that it would invest $10 billion to $12 billion to build a chip factory in Phoenix.

Reuters this month reported that the previously disclosed factory could be the first of up to six planned plants at the site. Now, company officials are debating whether the next plant should be a more advanced facility that can make chips with so-called 3-nanometer chipmaking technology compared to the slower, less-efficient 5-nanometer technology used for the first factory.

Good - if China invades, I bet that they will find the tsmc factory to be a metaphoric glowing crater.  The processes are dealing with nanometer level accuracy so a little tweak here and a gentle shove there and all of their billion-dollar machinery will be rendered useless and China does not have the technology to diagnose or repair.

Good company and I welcome them to America.

Word to the wise - history

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Getting these screens?

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Are you getting these screens all of a sudden?
Just the stupid children working for the deep state trying to be our nannies again.
These sites are clean - they are just trying to "nudge" our behavior again.

Self-centered elitists.  Entitled. Useful Idiots in the truest sense of the word.
Crawl back under your StarWars© blankie in your mommies basement and have a good cry you incel little wanker.

The joke is, once the people like AOC, Pelosi, Schumer, Harris finally manage to seize power, these people will be the first to be lined up and shot. They think they are a component of a coming revolution.  They are its cannon fodder - nothing more, nothing less.  Their graves will not be marked.  They will not be remembered.  They will have no legacy. They are a pawn.

So the question now is...

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...what are they trying to hide.  Elections are supposed to be open. From The Gateway Pundit:

Dominion Voting Systems Releases Statement – Slams Arizona Forensic Audit and States Company WILL NOT Release Passwords to Maricopa Voting Machines
Back on November 30, 2020, Maricopa County elections witness Jan Bryant testified before the Arizona legislature. Jan said back on November 30, 2020, that Maricopa County officials DID NOT RUN THE ELECTION! Two Dominion employees in the audit center ran the election. This explains why Maricopa County officials do not have Admin passwords or access to the Dominion voting machines. They never had them!

America’s Audit Director Ken Bennett told OAN earlier in the week that Dominion was refusing to comply with the subpoena to turn over the passwords. What are they hiding?

Exactly - what are they hiding?   A simple question.  We should be getting a simple answer.

Dog walk, coffee and head to the thrift store - they open at 10:00 AM

More spew later today...

Great move - Israel

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Perfect fakeout.  From the London Daily Mail:

Israel's deadly deception: IDF TRICKED Hamas into believing a ground invasion was underway... then obliterated tunnel network knowing militants would be hiding underground waiting to ambush tanks

    • There was confusion when the IDF suggested troops were on the ground in Gaza, before retracting the statement and saying that forces attacked Hamas tunnels along the border but did not cross it
    • Turned out to be a well-planned ploy get Hamas to send its fighters into its underground tunnel system beneath Gaza City, before bombarding the area, in the hope of eliminating large numbers of militants
    • Still, fears of invasion remain with thousands of troops moving to the border and 9,000 reservists called up
    • Israel stepped up its attacks on Gaza overnight with more than 1,000 bombs and shells pounding northern and eastern areas in the heaviest attacks of the conflict so far
    • Meanwhile Hamas has continued firing hundreds of rockets at Israel from Gaza and was joined overnight by three rockets fired from Hezbollah-controlled Lebanon, though all of them fell short
    • More street clashes took place in Israeli-Arab city of Lod, with fighting reported in Jaffa and Umm al-Fahm
    • Fighting continued this morning as IDF jets struck what they called underground rocket sites and observation posts around Gaza, with Hamas suicide drones sent the other way

The Israel Defence Forces managed to trick Hamas into believing a ground invasion was underway last night and then obliterated their tunnel network knowing militants would be hiding underground waiting to ambush tanks and soldiers, reports in Israel claim.

There was confusion when the IDF said shortly after midnight that ground forces were 'attacking in Gaza', and later suggested that boots were on the ground. A spokesman later retracted that statement - saying that military operations were conducted along the border, but no Israeli troops had crossed it.

However, the announcement was apparently a well-planned ploy to get Hamas to send its fighters into its underground tunnel system beneath Gaza City, before bombarding the area, in the hope of eliminating large numbers of militants in one fell swoop.

Soldiers and tanks with drones equipped with night vision lay in wait for survivors as they surfaced, hitting them with aerial and ground fire. Snipers and missile units were also waiting for them on the ground.

Brilliant.  Israel is very hesitant to send personnel into Gaza as one of Hamas' goals is to capture their soldiers and use them for propaganda.  The corpses are returned but the torture they had been subjected to is inhumane. Why these apes are "heroes" to the left is beyond me.  Just look at their record for treating women and gays. Hypocrites.

News you can use - the jab

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3.. 2.. and done

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Not as productive an afternoon as I was planning but a good one.  Got some paperwork, email and phone calls taken care of.  Visited the auction site to confirm my purchases and take some measurements.  Ordered the UHaul truck for next Tuesday and confirmed my work party.

Poked around a little bit outside - trying to trace a power line that comes out of the wall of the house and disappears into the ground.  I am suspecting a sump pump somewhere but can not find any indication of location.  Big groundwater problem with the house so having to rehabilitate whatever system was in their originally.  A lot easier dealing with the county on that than just installing something new.

When the local electrician was installing my new panel a few months ago, he mentioned that he was getting a new boat.  A new boat showed up in the bay this afternoon and I sent him an email.  Yup - his.  Beauty.  I told him that I was planning to try out my new PA Speakers this evening. Would 3:00 AM be OK and was there a particular kind of music that he did not like. No reply yet...

Clean the kitchen, run the dishwasher and watch some YouTube. Working tomorrow morning.

Sending prayers to Israel.  The current administration is causing all sorts of problems throughout the entire world - not just here.  That the Democrats were able to cheat and get their meat puppet installed in office speaks volumes to the level of corruption in DC at this time.  Some serious cleaning is needed.  Congressional term limits would be excellent too - get back to the original job description.

Some pushback - Michigan

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They have a piece of work for a governor. An Elitist. Corrupt. Entitled. And this is just the short list.
Her management of the Wuhan Flu was spot on.
Here is the latest from The Epoch Times:

Company Defies Michigan Governor’s Order to Shut Down Oil Pipeline
A Canadian energy company has defied an order from Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer to shut down a controversial oil and gas pipeline Wednesday amid growing concern that doing so could lead to fuel disruptions similar to those resulting from last week’s cyberattack on an East Coast system.

The Democratic governor gave Canadian pipeline company Enbridge until Wednesday to shut down Line 5, which runs under the Straits of Mackinac, amid fears that it could spill in a channel linking two of the Great Lakes.

“These oil pipelines in the Straits of Mackinac are a ticking timebomb, and their continued presence violates the public trust and poses a grave threat to Michigan’s environment and economy,” Whitmer’s office said in a statement.

However, Enbridge refused to comply with the order, saying that only the federal government has regulatory authority over its operations. It says leaks have never occurred in the underwater section of Line 5, although in 2010, a different Enbridge pipeline spilled nearly a million gallons of oil into Michigan’s Kalamazoo River.

Yeah - there are dangers with anything. The spill from over ten years ago was cleaned up. Enbridge is 100% correct - this is a Federal call, not one for the Wicked Witch. Whitmer wants to crash the economy so the socialists can sieze power. Glad to see that Enbridge is not yielding.

True that - war and peace

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And it begins - Israel

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From the London Daily Mail:

Israeli ground troops attack Gaza as air force bombards targets and officials order EVERYONE living within miles of the border to go to bunkers - after tit-for-tat death toll climbed to 110 including dozens of children

    • The Israel Defense Force tweeted tonight: 'IDF air and ground troops are currently attacking in the Gaza Strip'
    • A military spokesman added that 'there are ground troops attacking in Gaza, together with air forces as well'
    • Benjamin Netanyahu said: 'The last word was not said and this operation will continue as long as necessary'
    • It is not clear if the offensive will be to destroy rocket sites or Hamas leaders or extended campaign to invade
    • Israel called up 9,000 reservists to bolster its forces as it deployed troops to the Gaza border for the assault

Israeli ground troops have attacked Gaza as its air force bombarded targets and officials ordered everyone living within miles of the border to go to bunkers amid fears of fierce retaliation from Hamas.

Fears of an all-out war escalated in the early hours of Friday morning as the military said just after midnight that air and ground forces were attacking the Hamas-run enclave. Rocket barrages from Gaza swiftly followed.

Its statement gave no further details but military affairs correspondents who are briefed by the armed forces said it was not a ground invasion, and that troops were firing artillery from Israel's side of the border.

No help or support from us. Shameful lack on our part. Israel is our best friend and staunchest ally in that part of the world.

Hope they enjoy their 72 white grapes of exceptional purity. From Don Surber:

Biden gave Palestinians $235 million; they fired 1,600 rockets at Israel
Follow the money. On April 7, Al Jazeera reported, "The Biden administration has announced plans to resume funding for the United Nations agency that supports Palestinian refugees, which has faced a dire financial situation since former US President Donald Trump cut US assistance in 2018."

President Trump cut off the aid because Palestinian leaders keep terrorizing Israel.

Arab News said the US gift was $235 million. It said, "The plan calls for $150 million through the United Nations relief agency UNRWA, $75 million in US economic and development assistance and $10 million for peace-building programs, Blinken said in a statement."

That is a lot of money to give to Palestinians whose leaders have refused peace settlements for 73 years.

AJ said, "UNRWA provides aid and other services, including healthcare and education, to about 5.7 million Palestinian refugees in the occupied West Bank and Gaza Strip, Lebanon, and Jordan – and the agency welcomed the US announcement."

Paying for schools and medical care frees up money for Palestinian authorities to buy rockets.

That one month after Biden released the money, the rocket attack began.

There never were any native palestinians.  The people causing the problems are Hashamite Jordanian.  Jordan doesn't want them.  Nobody wants them. I can see why they are uppity - they used to be the big shizzle.  Now? Nope.

History is fun.  It can also be very inconvenient.  I can see why some people study it and why some people willfully ignore it.

Oh: 72 white grapes or raisins?  A small translation error. I hope that the terrorists enjoy their eternity in hell. Those 72 white grapes of exceptional purity must be really sweet.  Imagine the expression on their faces when they find that they killed themselves over a simple translation error.

And out for an hour or three

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Errands and a couple of phone calls. Working outside this afternoon - next couple of days looks really good.

Of course - next question?

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Paging Captain Obvious - from The New York Post:

If you prefer city living over nature, you might be a psychopath: study
City slickers are more likely to be psychotic — or so says a study published in the Journal of Environmental Psychology, which found a correlation between people who exhibit darker personality traits and a preference for urban over suburban and rural areas.

Using the crowdsourcing website Prolific, researchers at the University of Derby surveyed 304 UK-based adults on their preferred geographical setting, how connected they felt with nature and their personality type. The resulting data showed a correlation between socially averse personality traits — like sadism and narcissism — and being partial to inner-city living. A second study of another 235 UK-based adults concluded similar results.

“Psychopathy is inversely associated with nature connectedness,” authors wrote in the study’s highlight section, noting that “high scoring on psychopathy was associated with a preference for inner-city living, but did not match residential history.”

Cities can be fun when you are young but once you hit 30, it takes a different mindset to thrive.

RIP - Spencer Silver

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Spencer Silver?  From the New York Times:

Spencer Silver, an Inventor of Post-it Notes, Is Dead at 80
Spencer Silver, a research chemist at 3M who inadvertently created the not-too-sticky adhesive that allows Post-it Notes to be removed from surfaces as easily as they adhere to them, died on Saturday at his home in St. Paul, Minn. He was 80.

His wife, Linda, said that he died after an episode of ventricular tachycardia, in which the heart beats faster than normal. Mr. Silver had a heart transplant 27 years ago.

Since their introduction in 1980, Post-it Notes have become a ubiquitous office product, first in the form of little canary-yellow pads — billions of which are sold annually — and later also in different hues and sizes, some with much stickier adhesives. There are currently more than 3,000 Post-it Brand products globally.

Use them all the time - brilliant.  Great story at the site - took 3M a long time to realize just what they had.

The latest cult to follow

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BLM? Just another cult with its detractors and adherents. Roger L. Simon has some history:

How ‘Woke’ May Be Leading Us to Civil War
The other day, I wrote that “woke” was the new conformism.

It is, of course, but I undersold it. It’s much more than that and more dangerous.

As Tal Bachman notes at Steynonline, it’s now our state religion, a state religion in a country that—constitutionally and for good reason—isn’t supposed to have one.

But “Wokism” is yet more than that, too. It’s a mass psychosis similar to many that have arisen throughout history when the masses followed leaders who, in their zeal or self-interest, took them to disastrous ends.

And BLM specifically? Roger sets the stage talking about an earlier cult: Erhard Seminars Training (est) and proceeds from there:

Although operationally similar, “woke” is exponentially more perilous than the now-defunct est training. Our position in society, our livelihoods, and our children’s educations and futures are being held over our heads, not our mere use of a restroom.

An iron-fisted, ideologically extreme minority has our country under its thumb—play along or face ex-communication. This is stronger than anything in our history and almost identical to what we see and have seen in totalitarian countries.

It’s a psychosis approaching mass hallucination. In Franco’s Spain, they shouted, “Viva la muerte!” (“Long live death!”) Here we are asked to proclaim just as loudly “Black Lives Matter,” to display signs saying as much on our lawns, although we never thought otherwise and always thought (naively, we are told) that all lives mattered.

All key aspects, most parts of them anyway, of our society “get it” as they did in est (i.e., now believe in ”woke”) or, yet more ominously, cynically say they do—the media, the corporations (“Better woke than broke!”), the government bureaucracy, the Democratic Party, the Department of Justice, the FBI, the military (yikes!), entertainment, the university system, the K–12 system, the medical community, the scientific community (incredibly), the religious community (sadly), and on and on.

All, to one extent or another, believe in “woke” except—the people.

Most of the people anyway.

Sorry guys - I do not buy into your fad. I stand with the rest of We The People. All Lives Matter
The Bitter Little Marxists can kiss my posterior.

A bit of perspective - Israel

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The war that Iran is waging on Israel and the West. Israeli writer Martin van Creveld:

Several factors explain the low number of casualties. First, the rockets coming from Gaza are enormously inaccurate. They hit targets, if they do, almost at random. Second, the Iron Dome anti-missile defense system works better than anyone had expected. The system has the inestimable advantage in that it can calculate the places where the rockets will land. Consequently it only goes into action against those—approximately one in five or six—that are clearly about to hit an inhabited area. The outcome is vast savings; in some cases, realizing that the incoming rockets are not going to hit anybody or anything, the authorities do not even bother to sound the alarm. Third, civil defense seems to be working well; people obey instructions and are, in any case, getting used to this kind of thing. Fourth, as always in war, one needs luck.

In turn, the small number of Arab casualties and the limited amount of damage inflicted has enabled the government of Israel to keep the lid on its own actions in the face of extremist demands. It suggests a degree of control and precision never before attained or maintained in any war in history. But while the Israelis have been extremely effective in avoiding collateral deaths, the impact of their strikes against Hamas’ short-range rockets in particular is limited.

Israel’s lucky run will not last forever. Sooner or later, a Hamas rocket that for one reason or another has not been intercepted is bound to hit a real target in Israel and cause real damage. Imagine a school or kindergarten being hit, resulting in numerous deaths. In that case public pressure on the government and the Israel Defense Forces “to do something” will mount until it becomes intolerable.

This was posted July 2014.  Nothing has changed.  Hat tip to Vox Day for the link.

The history of the Palestinian conflict is interesting - basically, a failed KGB attempt to destabilize Israel starting from the 1950's. Lots of corroborating data here and other sites.  The first "Palestinian"  leader was an Egyptian who spent nine years in Moscow at Patrice Lumumba University and then came to Jordan with a nice fat bankroll and began to "organize".

And nothing much this morning

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Socked in when I woke up but it is burning off and the sun is peeking through.

Puttering around the house and getting ready to head out for a nice dog run and the morning libation. Working at home - outside if it clears up, wiring if it does not.

Two morning memes

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From Woodsterman:

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So true - both of them.

That's all folks - long day

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Busy day tomorrow too. Early bedtime and sleep in tomorrow. Wiring and yardwork. Dogs are all tuckered out from a couple hours running at the farm.

Videos and that is it for me...

I had written about this earlier: What are they hiding - Seattle
From The Seattle Times:

Seattle Mayor Jenny Durkan had phone set to keep texts only 30 days, her office says
Seattle Mayor Jenny Durkan, whose text messages are missing for a 10-month period that includes the peak of last year’s Black Lives Matter demonstrations, at some point had an iPhone set to automatically delete texts older than 30 days, her office acknowledged Tuesday.

cough...bullshit...cough - the deletion or retention of data is set by the server and not the end-user device.  The iPhone may be set to only DISPLAY the last 30 days but the iPhone does not delete the older texts from the server.  That is something handled on the server side of things.  Storage space is dirt cheap. Messages do not take up any appreciable room.  I would have the server set to retain all messages.  End of story. Deleting them only implies that you have something specific that you want to hide.

The missing texts could spur changes in how public records are handled at City Hall, and a mayoral candidate Tuesday asked state Attorney General Bob Ferguson to investigate. The matter would need to be referred by law enforcement for Ferguson’s office to consider investigating, according to his office.

Durkan’s texts were not retained from late August 2019 to June 25, 2020, a whistleblower investigation report revealed last week. In an email Tuesday responding to several days of questions about how that happened, the mayor’s office said a forensic analysis has determined that Durkan’s text retention was set to 30 days “on one of the three phones issued” to her at some point between late August 2019 and July 24, 2020.

I bet that if the shoe were on the other foot - that if Mayor Durkan had done something brilliant in a text and wanted to show it to the world, it would be there for any and all to see regardless of how many days had elapsed.  Something detrimental to the Mayor's reputation however?  Gone. Pffttttt.

What with all of the tech companies in the area, I am surprised that they would try to pass this off as the excuse.  A billion geeks are silently shaking their heads.

Calling a spade a spade - Biden

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They can not hide this.  From the London Daily Mail:

'His mental and physical condition cannot be ignored': More than 120 retired generals and admirals sign open letter questioning Biden's mental health and backing election fraud claims

    • More than 120 signed the 'Open Letter from Retired Generals and Admirals'
    • The letter questioned the integrity of the U.S. election
    • It also questions Biden's mental fitness, blasts the Iran deal, says 'anarchy' cannot be tolerated, and says 'illegals are flooding our country'
    • It echoes Trump's claims that absentee ballots are not secure
    • Other retired military officers slammed the letter as intrusion in domestic politics
    • Said Retired Adm. Mike Mullen, former chair of the joint chiefs: 'I think it hurts the military and by extension it hurts the country'

A group of more than 120 retired military officers have written President Joe Biden to tell him his election was less than legitimate – while questioning his mental acuity.

The letter echoes former President Donald Trump's claims of widespread election fraud – which have not been borne out in the courts – and comes on a day when Rep. Liz Cheney ripped Trump for his claim that the election was 'stolen.'

The truth will come out. Wonder when Biden will melt down in prime-time.  They have him pretty well doped up but neurons are neurons and shit happens.

Yippiee

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I missed out on two lots - the used chainsaw chain and some grinding wheels but got all the shelving I was looking to get.  Came out to be about the same prices as generic shelving from Costco and this is specific to grocery and hardware stores. Very happy camper. Some of the items (chainsaw chain and grinding wheels included) went for way too much money.  Local people wanting something sentimental and not doing their research.

Picked up a fried chicken breast for dinner, met with an "interesting" person and ran a few errands.  Surf for a bit, fix dinner and early bedtime.

Looking at the numbers online - looks like we are headed for stagflation.  Carter years again. Stupid. Glad I pulled out of the stock market - bonds are not great but they are safe.

Two stories that caught my eye:

Wonderful. If he was innocent, why did he bug out from NYC to Florida?

From The Federalist:

Trump: Comparisons Of Biden And Carter Are Unfair … To Carter
Former President Donald Trump said comparing former President Jimmy Carter’s presidency to the Biden administration is unfair.

“I see that everybody is comparing Joe Biden to Jimmy Carter. It would seem to me that is very unfair to Jimmy Carter. Jimmy mishandled crisis after crisis, but Biden has CREATED crisis after crisis,” Trump wrote in a statement Wednesday.

Trump then listed off all of Biden’s self-inflicted crises.

“First there was the Biden Border Crisis (that he refuses to call a Crisis), then the Biden Economic Crisis, then the Biden Israel Crisis, and now the Biden Gas Crisis,” Trump wrote. “Joe Biden has had the worst start of any president in United States history, and someday, they will compare future disasters to the Biden Administration—but no, Jimmy was better!

Carter must be feeling good - he went from the worst president in recent history to third-worst.
Obama's legacy just elevated a notch as well.

And back home

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Inspection was a piece of cake.  The inspector took about five minutes and said that Barron's did "their usual bang-up job"   Lots of email and a couple pieces of paperwork to take care of.  The auction runs out in about an hour.  Heading out to meet up with someone interesting and get some groceries.

Life continues to be interesting and fun.

And outta here

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A bit under a two hour drive and I want to be there at 9:00 AM.  Gotta go.

Hope and change

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Puts a big smile on my face this morning - FOX News:

Liz Cheney ousted from role as House GOP Conference chair; replacement still unclear
House Republicans ousted Rep. Liz Cheney Wednesday morning in a closed-door vote from the No. 3 spot from leadership -- but the Wyoming Republican remained defiant on the way out.

Cheney had remained steadfast in her opposition to former President Donald Trump and his "dangerous lies" about the 2020 election being stolen from him -- putting her at odds with other House Republicans who wanted to move on from the Jan. 6 riot and unite the party to win in the 2022 midterms.

Cheney was removed by a voice vote and took a swing at Trump after the Capitol meeting.

"I will do everything I can to ensure that the former president never again gets anywhere near the Oval Office," Cheney said after the vote. "We have seen the danger that he continues to provoke with his language. We have seen his lack of commitment and dedication to the Constitution, and I think it's very important that we make sure whomever we elect, is somebody who will be faithful to the Constitution."

Don't let the door hit you where the good Lord split you. Delusional to the very end.

And up - gray day

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Forecast is for cleaning and sunshine - see what happens.

Time for a shower, fix some breakfast, surf and out the door. Dog walk and coffee on the road.

So far, I am still the winner for all five lots - see what happens when we get close to closing at 11:00 AM

Up at O-dark-30

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Heading North tomorrow morning. Got five bids at the auction - four are shelves for the store and one for me. Used chainsaw chain - a couple boxes with maybe 30-40 pounds total. Cheap. This is a mix of hard and soft steel so see what kind of Damascus it can make. Here is Dmitry Shevchenko  making a knife with some.

Got to meet someone at the farm at 9:00 AM so on the road at 7.  I'll be doing the final bidding at the auction while the plumbing inspector is checking the work.

Couple of videos first.

An observation - Instapundit

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Seen over there:

VIA A FRIEND: “So a pipeline is hackable, but a voting machine wasn’t???”

A good question...

Got a point there - the 2nd

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Fun and games in the big shitty

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Glad I do not live there - three stories from Seattle station KOMO:

The last one should be interesting - Bellevue is on the shore of Lake Washington and is about as yuppie as can be. Lots of money there both new and old. About as far from the urban core of Seattle as you can get - 10+ miles over a floating bridge as well as culturally. No homeless need apply. Are the Antifa kiddies testing the waters?  My guess.

As good a reason as any

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High gasoline prices are in our future.  Nice that the Biden administration has such a convenient "crisis" to shift the blame.  From The Epoch Times:

Gas Prices Expected to Keep Rising in Wake of Colonial Pipeline Attack
Gas prices, already close to $3 a gallon after a cyberattack on Colonial Pipeline, are expected to keep rising through the week, especially in the eastern United States.

“We’re expecting to see price increases to continue through the week, and in particular in the southeast region and in the northeast, because we are seeing directly impacted areas along the terminals of the pipeline that remain out,” Devin Gladden with the American Automobile Association (AAA) told The Epoch Times.

“And so as we see imports, deliveries from trucks, fill that gap, that may mean that higher costs will be associated with those deliveries and that is certainly causing prices to increase at the pump for consumers,” he added.

I went to Gas Buddy to check prices but they were having some issues - I'll try again later today and see how things are in New York City, Los Angeles and Seattle.

Dropped my membership with AAA about five years ago.  My insurance company offers exactly what I want - basic roadside rescue and towing - for about 1/3rd the cost. AAA used to be focused on car+driver+travel and now, they are trying to diversify by marketing all sorts of other crap.  I get it, they are a business and their core function is to make money for their shareholders. Still - when you dilute the core competency, you dilute the whole business. Not good.

Out with the old, in with the new

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My fault entirely but...  crap...

I have an odd fondness for custom license plates and have them for my car, van, store truck.  Every vehicle.

Totally spaced on the registration for my van and went to get it renewed.  Turns out that after 45 days, the State of WA will release the custom plates back for anyone to get.  Someone got.

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And, of course, all the obvious ones (WELDER, HOTIRON, BLKSMTH, etc) have already been snarfed up.  Grumble...

From The Urban Dictionary:

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Tip 'o the hat to Bayou Renaissance Man

Lunch break

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The shelving looks really good. The contents have been picked over quite a bit so not bidding on them.

Having lunch and then working here for the rest of the day.  Was planning to head up tonight but staying here and leaving tomorow very early. Paperwork and other stuff.

Quick surf.

Heading out shortly - the auction preview opens at 8:00 AM and want to be there before the lookie-loos show up. Get a coffee on the road.

Need to be at the farm tomorrow morning and debating whether to stay down here and get an early start.

More this afternoon. Also have to see about renting a box truck.

It was all a mistake - a simple misunderstanding. A mere bagatelle.  From Barstool Sports:

Bob Baffert Claims A Man Taking Cough Medicine Peed On The Hay In Medina Spirit's Stall And The Horse Ate The Hay, Causing A Positive Test
Well that adds up! It all makes sense now! Give the Derby back to Medina Spirit, it was all one big understanding. It's like when you get a positive drug test because you were in your friend's car who happened to do 1 (one) marijuana cigarette, it's all wrong place at the wrong time.

Medina's handler was feeling a little under the weather, allergies and what not, and was taking copious amounts of DayQuil and drinking a ton of water. And when you're a horse guy, you pee wherever you want. It's all nature. So one thing led to another and the horse ate the contaminated hay, and that's where we're at now. If not for that extra pollen in the air, none of this would have happened.

So I'm glad Baffert cleared this all up. Medina was just tripping on some of the 'Quil, no harm, no foul. And I buy it. Go test that hay, ASAP, and we can put the end to story once and for all. Triple Crown, back on!

Believe that?  I happen to have an historic bridge for sale.  Located in downtown New York City.  It is in use but the city is putting it up for sale to raise money for diversity training. Contact me if you are interested - terms are available with a suitable initial down payment.

The Antrim County election audit

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The Big Orange Guy weighs in - From the desk of Donald J. Trump:

The major Michigan Election Fraud case has just filed a bombshell pleading claiming votes were intentionally switched from President Trump to Joe Biden. The number of votes is MASSIVE and determinative. This will prove true in numerous other States. All Republicans must UNIFY and not let this happen. If a thief robs a jewelry store of all of its diamonds (the 2020 Presidential Election), the diamonds must be returned. The Fake News media refuses to cover the greatest Election Fraud in the history of our Country. They have lost all credibility, but ultimately, they will have no choice!

I was hoping that this would be resolved before J. R. Biden occupied President Trump's seat at the White House but better late than never.  This way, they are being caught with the actual fraud and not just statistical improbabilities.

The results were released earlier today. Pretty damning for the Democrats - no wonder they were moving heaven and earth to stop the audits from happening. They know that we know.

All comes down to another opportunity to virtue signal one's elitism. A tonic for their Ego.
Look at me.  I am so virtuous in my compassion and diversity and WOKEness.

I am reminded of the line from Shelley's great poem:

Look on my works, ye Mighty, and despair!

The replies are worth reading - only a few are shown so be sure to click the: "show more replies" link. I love this one:

When I see the collective individually take responsibility for their own lives... I’ll care

Yeah - exactly...

Censorship - an infographic

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A related idea is the Overton Window - these two go hand in hand.  One tool to implement the other.

Tip of the hat to Mostly Cajun

He nails the WOKE crowd:

Heh

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From Breitbart:

LAPD’s Topanga Division Station Firebombed in Latest Attack on Law Enforcement
In the latest violent attack on Los Angeles law enforcement, the L.A. Police Department’s Topanga Division station was firebombed with an apparent molotov cocktail early Sunday. Authorities pursued and successfully apprehended the suspect.

An LAPD spokesperson confirmed to Breitbart News that the attack took place at around 12:55 a.m. Sunday morning. The suspect threw a glass bottle containing a flammable liquid at the station’s front window. The act was witnessed by multiple officers who went in pursuit of the attacker.

Curious when you consider this story:

Nice work if you can get it - BLM
Starting a brand like Black Lives Matter is highly lucrative. It was never about adjusting past wrongs, it has always been about grabbing power and money. Cullors is using race to grift the American population.

From real-estate website dirt.com:

Black Lives Matter Co-Founder Patrisse Khan-Cullors Lands Topanga Canyon Compound
A secluded mini-compound tucked into L.A.’s rustic and semi-remote Topanga Canyon was recently sold for a tad more than $1.4 million to a corporate entity that public records show is controlled by Patrisse Khan-Cullors, 37-year-old social justice visionary and co-founder of the galvanizing and, for some, controversial Black Lives Matter movement.

More here and here - Topanga is just under 20 sq. miles and has about 8,300 people. Quite the wealthy and/or bohemian hangout. Makes me wonder if Mr. Rosin (the perp - they caught him) is a friend of Ms. Cullors...

From America's Newspaper of Record:

Bounty On Groot Skyrockets Due To Spike In Lumber Prices
The bounty on notorious criminal Groot's head has skyrocketed following a sharp increase in lumber prices across the galaxy, sources confirmed Monday.

The member of the outlaw group known as the "Guardians of the Galaxy" -- wanted for violent assaults, escaping prison, more nefarious mercenary acts -- previously had a bounty issued in the amount of $100,000 in Terran dollars, but that number has shot way up, with bounty hunters now seeking him out for the sum of $10,000,000.

"It's just supply and demand," said one member of a Ravager clan. "Builders are seeking lumber right now, which is in short supply. And Groot is a highly sought-after Flora colossus, desirable for its application in building homes and businesses. While he was previously wanted for his criminal acts, he's now wanted more for his potential as a building material."

Groot strongly condemned the increased bounty on his head, saying, "I am Groot. I am Groot? I am Groot." When pressed, he added, "I am Groot," leaving little doubt as to where he stands.

Reporters also sought comment from Treebeard. He has promised a statement but only got out the word "hello" by publishing time.

Feel kind of sorry for the little guy but I do need some 2X4s...

Slow day today too

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Got nuttin' - heading out for dog walk and coffee. Back home - working outside and doing some more wiring, laundry, house cleaning. Basic maintenence stuff.

More spew later

From Conservative Treehouse:

Direct Evidence of Intentional Dominion Ballot Counting and Tabulation Fraud Submitted to Court in Michigan Following Forensic Audit of Antrim County Ballot Counting Systems
This appears to be a rather big deal. In the Antrim County, Michigan lawsuit, the lawyer for plaintiff William Bailey has just submitted direct evidence of ballot counting manipulation within the electronic ballot counting system.

Attorney Matthew DePerno has submitted the results of a forensic audit showing how votes were manipulated in the county tabulation system. [Supplemental Brief Here] – [Forensic Audit Results Here]

These audits are coming home to roost. As I wrote yesterday:

I do hope that it will trigger an awakening in the American populace.  The media has been gaslighting them in collusion with the deep state. Time to throw the bums out and start over. Both parties.

J. R. Biden is not the legally elected President of the United States. Simple as that. Why do you think that the Capitol building still has razor wire and 30,000 troops guarding it. They know it. We know it and hopefully, We The People will know it soon.

Nuttin' much here

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A nice and productive day even with the shopping run to Costco and other places. Made a solid dent in a couple of projects, doing some loads of laundry and refilled the hummingbird feeders.  Need to get another 25# sack of sugar for them - running low.

Digitizing the last of the CDs - get them back to the Library tomorrow. Spend Monday working at the house, auction preview Tuesday and up to the farm Tuesday evening. Back to the island Thursday and to work Friday and Saturday morning.  Busy. Doing some paperwork for the arts group now.

The skies cleared up and it cooled down - got up to 76°F in the morning and then cleared up and cooled down to the mid-60's for the majority of the day. The next couple days look pretty decent.

Got nuttin' happening online to speak of. The Arizona election audit is going to be really interesting. I do hope that it will trigger an awakening in the American populace.  The media has been gaslighting them in collusion with the deep state. Time to throw the bums out and start over. Both parties.

From the Wall Street Journal:

Melinda Gates Was Meeting With Divorce Lawyers Since 2019 to End Marriage With Bill Gates
The split between Bill and Melinda Gates, announced last week, has been in the works for a long time.

Ms. Gates consulted with divorce lawyers roughly two years before she filed for divorce from Mr. Gates, saying their marriage was “irretrievably broken,” according to people familiar with the matter and documents reviewed by The Wall Street Journal.

The 56-year-old philanthropist has been working with lawyers at several firms since at least 2019 to unwind the marriage of more than 25 years, according to these people and the documents.

The rest of the story is behind a paywall but other sources are reporting that the thin edge of the wedge was BillG's involvement with Jeffrey Epstein and flying on the Lolita Express. Like I keep saying, BillG is not that bright.
Savvy and lucky? Yes.  Bright? No.

Grumble - island problems

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Ran a few errands today - one of which was Costco.  I check their new books section for anything that catches my eye. Log into the library website and reserve it.

Saw that Andy Weir's new one was out: "Project Hail Mary" so went online and... sigh...

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So I gotta wait a whole month or two before I get MY turn.  This island is too literate.

And the usual...

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Turning into a nice day - 74°F and rising. Lots of clouds and sunshine.  Good day for wiring and maybe some work outside the house. Dump run, dog walk and coffee first though - got my priorities.

Peace in the Middle East - Biden

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Looks like things are backsliding right according to schedule - from the London Daily Mail:

Navy seizes THOUSANDS of Chinese and Russian assault weapons, sniper rifles and anti-tank missiles hidden on ship 'sailing from Iran to Yemen' in the Arabian Sea

    • The U.S. Fifth Fleet discovered the weapons aboard a ship in the Arabian Sea off Oman and Pakistan
    • The Navy found nearly 3,000 Chinese Type 56 assault rifles, a variant of the Kalashnikov, hundreds of other heavy machine guns and sniper rifles, and dozens of advanced, Russian-made anti-tank guided missiles
    • The weapons appeared to be bound for Yemen to support the country's Houthi rebels, Navy officials say
    • Navy's initial investigation found the vessel came from Iran. Tehran has previously denied providing rebels with weapons
    • This recent seizure appeared to be among the biggest in recent years amid the long- running war in Yemen

Iran is a sponsor of terrorism.  There are very good reasons why there are economic sanctions against them. They have been providing arms and have been trying to develop nuclear weapons. The Biden administration are enabling them to continue this activity.  Why?   After all, we can't have John Kerry be proven complicit in sponsoring terror now can we.

From Wayne Alan Root at Townhall:

Here are the questions I want answered:

    • If Democrats didn't rig and steal the election, why are they so afraid of forensic audits in key battleground states, specifically the current audit in Arizona?
    • When Trump was an 8-to-1 landslide favorite with bettors around the world late on election night and clearly headed toward a landslide electoral victory, why did five states suddenly announce they would pause counting for the night? And how come Biden was suddenly ahead by morning?
    • How come Michigan apparently had a dump of 149,772 votes at 6:31 a.m. on Nov. 4, 96% of which went to Biden?
    • How did Wisconsin count 149,520 votes for Biden from 3:26 to 3:44 a.m. on Nov. 4?
    • How come Philadelphia vote counters were so desperate to keep witnesses out of the counting room? Why did they refuse entry to witnesses (to Republicans) until those witnesses had a court order in hand?
    • Why were the windows in a vote-counting location in Detroit covered with cardboard so nobody (no Republican) could see inside?
    • There are videotapes filmed in Detroit of vans pulling up in the middle of the night with what obviously look like boxes of ballots. In Atlanta, there are videotapes that clearly show ballot containers appearing at a vote-counting location after a fake water main break was used to force all GOP witnesses out of the counting room. Why can't we discuss these videotapes?
    • How come Twitter banned me for life over mentioning these videotapes?
    • How come the Arizona Senate's liaison for the vote audit says Maricopa County hasn't complied with the subpoena by turning over passwords to Dominion voting machines?
    • How come the Biden DOJ suddenly wants to stop the Arizona audit?

Some good and basic questions.  Why?

Ruining our children - WA State

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Sickening news from Legal Insurrection this morning:

Washington Gov. Inslee Signs Bill Requiring Critical Race Training For Public School Teachers
On May 5, Governor Jay Inslee of Washington signed Senate Bill 5044 into law, which requires Critical Race Theory (CRT) training for all school staff, board directors, teachers, and administrators in public schools across the state.

CRT is a toxic and divisive stew of marxist talking points. I look forward to the day when the adults return to the room.  This stupidity is going to cause untold damage to our next generation.

Loren Culp was not the ideal cantidate for Governor - little political and/or business experience - he was the police chief of a very small town in Eastern Washington.  That being said, he still won over 40% of the vote in 2020.  WA State is tired of the poor leadership and stupidity of Inslee.

Been feeling a bit nappish this afternoon but staying awake for another couple of hours.  Sleep in tomorrow morning though - dump run, long dog walk and leisurely coffee and then back home to do more wiring and clean the house. Quite the auction preview this Tuesday. Local hardware store - family run and been in business for many many years. Want to start carrying hardware at my grocery store so looking at inventory as well as shelving and fixtures. Always needing shelving and fixtures - those puppies are expensive.

Run the dishwasher, let the dogs out and watch some videos. Got a couple CDs digitized - do the rest tomorrow.

Heh - Evergreen State College

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You’ll never finds a more wretched hive of scum and villainy - I had visited there many years ago as they had quite the electronic music department - for a while. The College is notorious for beeing a really bad educational institution - it is consumed by whatever fad or narrative is popular at the time.

I had written about it here, here and here.
Seattle's liberal The Stranger says: Evergreen Ranks as One of the Worst Colleges in the U.S. for Free Speech.
Other media outlets are just as observant: herehereherehereherehere and here for starters.

Well...  It seems that they are trying to reform and to get some better leadership starting at the top.
And then this happened - from Centralia, WA's The Chronicle:

All Three Finalists to Be President of The Evergreen State College Withdraw From Process
A year-long process to find the next president of The Evergreen State College came to a shocking conclusion Wednesday when the college’s Board of Trustees emerged from a three-hour meeting and announced that the three finalists for the job had withdrawn their names from consideration.

Board of Trustees Chairwoman Karen Fraser said all three finalists — Michael Dumont, Catherine Kodat and Lee Lambert — withdrew following recent interviews with faculty, students, staff and alumni.

“We’re still in a state of surprise and disappointment,” she said. “This is where we are at the moment.”

More at the site. Heh...  I would love to be king there for 12 months - shake the place up a bit. Put a big gold TRUMP TOWER sign on the Administration building.  Get rid of any program that had "studies" in its name. Partner with a nearby voc-tec school and require 120 hours of trade training to graduate - welding, electric, culinary, auto mechanics, construction, etc...

Good video on the problem:

A sin of omission

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Listening to music at home and had a hankering for some Nina Simone.

Found out that I only had two of her albums.  Fortunately, the local library had three more so spending tonight digitizing those and a bunch more CDs (Duke Ellington and Thelonious Monk). Been into some classical Jazz recently

What are they hiding - Seattle

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The City administration managed last years peaceful protests rioting very poorly.
Literally, I would give them a -1 out of 10.  That poorly.

They could have nipped all of this in the bud if they showed some backbone but, they rolled over and gave in to the shrieking social justice warriors and the loud minority of mentally ill activists.

Now, when people are trying to do a post-mortem of the event and figure out who screwed up, they have entered C.Y.A. Mode and are destroying (or hiding) evidence of their stupidity. From The Seattle Times:

Not just the mayor: Text messages of Seattle police and fire chiefs from June 2020 also missing
Mayor Jenny Durkan isn’t the only Seattle leader whose text messages from a key period last June were not retained and are unavailable for public disclosure, the city’s lawyers have told attorneys suing Seattle over events that occurred during that tumultuous time.

Fire Chief Harold Scoggins’ messages and then-police Chief Carmen Best’s messages also are gone for a stretch of time when police repeatedly used tear gas at demonstrations and the Capitol Hill Organized Protest (CHOP) zone emerged, attorneys David Perez, Angelo Calfo and Patty Eakes said Friday they recently learned.

That means the texts of three top Seattle leaders during the contentious period can’t be directly reviewed, making it less likely that plaintiffs and the public will know exactly how the officials discussed and made decisions behind the scenes during key moments.

A report on a whistleblower investigation into the improper handling of public records in the mayor’s office revealed Thursday that Durkan’s texts from Aug. 28, 2019, to June 25, 2020, were not retained. The attorneys suing the city said they weren’t provided dates for the missing Scoggins and Best texts, other than much of June.

Dan Nolte, a spokesperson for City Attorney Pete Holmes, said in an email late Friday that Durkan’s text messages are missing “due to a retention setting with her iPhone,” while Best’s texts are gone “for reasons we are still ascertaining.” Scoggins was locked out of his phone because of password issues, and his texts couldn’t be recovered, Nolte said.

Each and every one of these excuses are just that - excuses.  This is abject bullshit. The internet is forever - those texts can be recovered if they do not actively wipe them. My bet? They are wiping them. Destruction of evidence.

So glad I moved out over 20 years ago - you spend lots of money in taxes for what?
Corrupt and ineffective government, no sense of leadership.

Gates divorce meme

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These are going to come thick and fast - here is one:

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Damn good idea - Congress

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Chris Lynch has an excellent idea - get elected to Congress?
Ya gotta do this before you can serve:

I think all candidates for Congress should first have to take and pass the citizenship test immigrants take as part of the Naturalization process. And the results should be made public. That would both weed out candidates who don't know our history or how our system works (looking at you Maxine Waters) but also provide an easy metric for people on the fence to make a choice (pick the candidate with the higher score)...

From CNS News:

Ransomware attack forces shutdown of largest fuel pipeline in the U.S.
The operator of the country’s largest fuel pipeline, Colonial Pipeline, fell victim to a cybersecurity attack on Friday that involved ransomware, forcing it to temporarily shut down all pipeline operations, the company said in a statement on Saturday.

The firm has hired a third-party cybersecurity firm to launch a probe into the incident and has contacted law enforcement and other federal agencies. The cyberattack has affected some of its IT systems too.

Colonial Pipeline, which transports nearly half of the East Coast’s fuel supply, said it is “taking steps to understand and resolve this issue.”

With something like this, it is going to be a week or two before we know what happened.
A bit scary through - this is the real infrastructure that our *Resident needs to be taking care of.
Not lefty talking points and grifting.

An interesting development in the Arizona election audit.  I had written yesterday that the Democrats were not giving the auditors the administrative passwords to the voting machinery.  Either they did not have them (in which case, the voting was run by Dominion and not by the state (sooper illegal)) or they were trying to hide something (something sooper illegal?)

From The Gateway Pundit:

Maricopa County Board of Supervisors Holds Emergency Meeting After AZ Senate Threatens Legal Action for Not Providing Passwords and Routers
The Maricopa County Board of Supervisors held an emergency meeting yesterday after the County was reportedly unable to provide passwords to the auditors performing an audit of the county’s 2020 Election results.  They also did not provide access to the routers which were requested in the audit as well.

Probably a closed-door meeting and instead of having pizzas delivered, they are sending out for a couple cases of Depends.  They seriously thought they could get away with it.  That We The People would not notice the huge discrepancies in the numbers. Now that they are being called on it, they are stonewalling every inch of the way.

I wrote yesterday about how the admin access to the database server was crucial to see if the records had been tampered with. The routers are just as important.  There are supposedly records of Internet Protocol traffic to locations in Germany and China.  If this turns out to be true, that means that foreign agents were monitoring and/or tampering at the very heart of where the individual votes were being recorded. No semblance of security.

Going down and could not be happening to a nicer bunch of people.

Got to think that they are just not that bright if they seriously thought that they could pull this off.
I mean now... Biden?
1,000+ comments for your reading pleasure.

Dump in the morrow

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Back home. Had some emails to deal with and scheduling my time for next week.

Warmed up a bit (67°F outside), overcast and the occasional sprinkle.

Surf, lunch and then wiring (and some much needed vaccuming).

Doing the dump run tomorrow, not today. Still have a lot of things that can go so loading the van up even more.

Nice neighbors

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Some wonderful people moving in - from Seattle station KOMO:

Notorious Mexican drug cartel trying to gain foothold in Seattle, Pacific Northwest
Federal drug investigators say there are many homegrown, illegal drug makers who are operating in the Seattle area and the Pacific Northwest, but violent Mexican drug cartels are moving in and also trying to establish a foothold in the region.

Officials from Homeland Security Investigations, the principal investigative arm of the Department of Homeland Security, told KOMO News that they are eyeing one group in particular because of its brazen activity.

That group is known as Jalisco New Generation Cartel, or CJNG, and its members are active in Mexico with operations that extend through the U.S. and all throughout Washington state.

Federal law enforcement said the cartel is now the primary group trafficking fentanyl into the U.S. across the southern border and into the Pacific Northwest via the north/south Interstate 5 corridor.

Gee - isn't there something that we can do?  Like close the border?
Still want to know how much Pelosi and Schumer are getting to keep it open.
That is the only explanation for the mess that we are in.

Quiet morning - sunny and cool

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No rain last night. Nothing (much) on the internet. Finishing breakfast and getting ready to head out.

Great five minute rag on our *Resident from Sky News:

This comment from J.B. sums it up:

Joe Biden's mind is like a web browser. 19 tabs are open, 17 are frozen and
he has no idea where the music is coming from.

Tip of the hat to Borepatch

Heh - so true

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Old-school televisions had mechanical tuners with lots of moving electrical contacts; tube pins in their sockets were a weakness too.  They would oxidize and giving them a good thump from time to time would get a better connection - improve the reception:

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I can think of a few people that need this treatment.

The Arizona Election audit

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Getting hinkier by the minute - from The Gateway Pundit:

AZ Audit Director Ken Bennett: Dominion Refuses to Comply with Subpoena and Turn Over Password to Their Maricopa County Machines
The Maricopa County Election Board claimed this week they do not have ‘Admin’ access to their county’s voting machines.

If this is the case, then the County did not own the election process they ceded it to their external vendor.

System administrators are individuals who have access to the systems at their highest levels. These individuals are able to perform all sorts of duties. They are able to perform most all the functions and changes in a system. They have complete and total control and can even delete or alter system logs.

I am betting that this last item: "and can even delete or alter system logs" is why they are withholding the access.  My SWAG is that the voting systems use some form of database and I am betting it is some dialect of SQL Server. These databases record every single operation that has ever happened from their day of creation to their last event. It would record if and when the system logs were altered or deleted.  Only an admin (root) would have the ability to read the database at that level of detail and granularity.

Here is Ken talking about the problem:

The roadblocks that they are throwing up indicate to me that there are significant problems with the accuracy of the 2020 Presidential Election. There are 2,700+ comments to the Gateway Pundit article that agree with me.  The Democrats knew that they did not have a chance - that the American Voters would not stand for their ideology. So, they did what they always do - they cheated.

They will continue to do this until we make it very painful for them to break the law.

Down in the dump

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Time for a dump run this afternoon.  Got the van full 'o crap.

Turned into quite the nice day - lots of rain this morning. Got almost a half-inch overnight.  A guy I work with at the store got an inch - they live about 400 feet above sea level and face the prevailing winds.  Microclimates are interesting.

Sunny and cool - Small Craft Advisory is still up but not seeing it here.  Again, microclimates - it can be blowing a squall on the far side of Whidbey and I will not see any of it. Got a few isolated lightning strikes in British Columbia but nothing within 100 miles of here.

Been eating a large lunch around 2:30 or so and just snacking for dinner.  Maybe a salad tonight.

WHOOPS: Closes at 5:00 PM - do the dump run tomorrow after work...  Glad I doublechecked before heading out.

Downside to mask wearing

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The Chinese know what makes Hunter tick - hookers and blow.
From the London Daily Mail:

EXCLUSIVE: 'Your doggy chain necklace is waiting for you.' Flirty messages from Hunter Biden's Chinese-American secretary, 29, who worked for him when he partnered with the 'spy chief of China' are revealed

    • DailyMail.com can reveal messages between Hunter Biden and young Chinese-American woman who worked in his business venture with Patrick Ho
    • In an audio recording, Hunter described Ho to a friend as the 'spy chief of China'
    • The young secretary, JiaQi Bao, worked for Hunter during his partnership with Chinese oil giant CEFC in a multi-million-dollar deal
    • Bao, then age 29, scheduled flights, hotels and doctor's appointments for him
    • She sent him opposition research to help Joe Biden's 2020 election bid and wrote flirty and personal messages and ended up with his military dog tags
    • She also encouraged him to draw from the company's accounts before they was shut down
    • Hunter and Joe Biden's brother Jim partnered with CEFC in 2017, in a deal that was meant to generate billions of dollars
    • But the joint venture collapsed the following year when CEFC's secretary general Ho was arrested and convicted of bribery in a US federal prosecution
    • It's unclear whether Bao was aware of CEFC bosses alleged links with intelligence services at the time and she has not responded to requests for comment

Hunter Biden's emails reveal his close relationship with the Chinese-American secretary who worked for him when he went into business with the man he called the 'spy chief of China.'

The mysterious young assistant wrote the president's son flirty messages, sent him opposition research for Joe's White House run and encouraged him to draw funds from the company's accounts when the joint venture collapsed and even ended up with Hunter's military dog tags.

In 2017 Hunter went into business with Patrick Ho, secretary general of Chinese oil giant CEFC.

Hunter described Ho in a call recording on his abandoned laptop as the 'spy chief of China', and the Chinese businessman was later surveilled by US law enforcement as a foreign intelligence threat before he was convicted of bribery in 2018.

After launching his multi-million-dollar joint venture with CEFC, Hunter was assigned a 29-year-old Chinese-American assistant, JiaQi Bao, who quickly struck up a close and intriguing relationship with her Biden boss.

At first, emails show the New York-based Bao diligently scheduled flights, hotels and even doctor's appointments for the president's son.

Much more at the site - the whole family is dirty as hell.

Raining lightly - got a bit over 0.4" last night.

Want to be at work at 9:30 (the store opens at 10:00 AM) so heading out now - dog walk, a nice leisurely coffee and then off for a half-day of poking around various electronics bits.  A lot of media stuff - TVs, stereos, small radios. Some good, some really cheap - the cheap stuff gets blown out for a buck or two and it sells. Music for the garage. Occasional computer stuff - tablets, phones, GPS receivers. Had one nice ham radio come through, had some strange electronics - a fun way to spend two mornings.

Funds from the sales go to the local community center and they do really good work so glad to be helping here. Nice change of pace from my grueling daily grind...

Nothing much happening online - the Arizona audit is getting interesting.  More when I get back.

It is grift all the way down.  From the Daily Caller:

BLM Co-Founder Patrisse Cullors Has Funneled Business To Company Run By Father Of Her Only Child, Records Show
Patrisse Cullors, the co-founder and executive director of Black Lives Matter’s national arm, has funneled business to a company led by a man she identified as the father of her only child, a Daily Caller News Foundation review of business records, interviews and social media posts found.

The company, Trap Heals, was formed just days before partnering with Black Lives Matter Global Network Foundation and later became the charity’s “lead developer of the art & cultural efforts,” according to business records, interviews and an archived version of Trap Heals’ website. Two other activist groups Cullors led paid Trap Heals a collective $238,000 to produce an election night livestream and for consulting services, campaign finance records show.

In numerous public mentions of their work, Cullors and Turner did not disclose that they had a child together. But in at least one instance, Turner said Cullors was directly involved in Trap Heals’ partnership with BLM Global Network.

A little bit of nepotism going there.  Eithics be damned. BLM is a funraising tool for Cullors and her cronies.

17°F drop in 90 minutes

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Went from 71°F down to 54°F and it is still dropping but not as fast.  Wind has let up a bit - still no precip. Getting some nice color from the sunset:

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See what happens as the evening progresses.

Was thinking that a glass of wine would go real well just now.  Passing on it though - it has been seven months since quitting alcohol entirely and I feel much better for it.  Much more productive.

Idée fixe???  Definition     A great quote from Jeff Goldstein at protein wisdom (December 2005):

DEFINING THE TERMS:  RACISM, FEMINISM, AND THE PROBLEM OF IDENTITY POLITICS
An obvious problem with the grievance aspect of identity politics is that the grievance needs to be perpetually maintained in order to justify the identity aspect of the politics.  And in an era of academic specialization wherein just about every individual identity group has its own set of researchers and theoretical champions—as well as a widely accepted generic narrative of grievance—the observation that continued relevance (which translates into political power) is contingent upon the nursing and care of the grievance is something that too often goes unexamined by a society that, at base, really does wish to understand and fix the problems and frustrations expressed by individual identity groups.

So true - the groups suffer from the same problem that all bureaucracies have.  If they fixed the problem that they were created to address, they would be out of a job and on the streets trying to come up with a new hustle. It is not in their interest to fix problems - War on Poverty? War on Drugs? Environmental Protection Agency? Department of Education?

Milch cows each and every one of them.  Same thing as we are seeing with Black Lives Matter - the founders are getting rich and the supporters on the street are getting squat.

More at David Thompson's site (December 4th, 2013):

Because Lying and Resenting is What Angels Do
Many moons ago, in a post on classroom radicalism and the grooming of students, I wrote,

The problem is that adversarial role-play, like that of leftist academics Grover Furr and Rhonda Garelick, has little to do with reason, refutation or how the world actually is. It does, however, have a great deal to do with how those concerned wish to seem. In order to maintain a self-image of heroic radicalism - and in order to justify funding, influence and status - great leaps of imagination or paranoia may be required. Hence the goal posts of persecution tend to move and new and rarer forms of exploitation and injustice have to be discovered, many of which are curiously invisible to the untutored eye. Thus, the rebel academic tends towards extremism, intolerance and absurdity, not because the mainstream of society is becoming more racist, prejudiced, patriarchal or oppressive – but precisely because it isn’t. As mainstream society becomes less fixated by race, gender, sexuality, etc., so peddlers of grievance and victimhood must search out - or invent - something to oppose. Overstatement and escalation are all but inevitable.

Much more at both sites - some insightful comments too.  Quite the trip down memory lane.  These are from around ten years ago and people are still pulling this shit.  Nobody has called them on it so they are getting away with it and making some very serious bank. Sometimes, I wish I did not have scruples.  I would be a lot better off financially.

A big shift - weather

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The wind was out of the South all day today - overcast skies.  Dull gray.

In the last 30 minutes, the temps have dropped about ten degrees, the wind is out of the Northwest and some very well-defined clouds are moving in.  Feels like a downpour in the offing.

Weather forecast now has the chance of precip at 96% and there is a Small Craft Advisory out for the local waters. Be some great sailing if you didn't mind getting wet.

Heading outside to check the car windows and then indoors to enjoy the show.  They are forecasting a wave height up to 10' although I am in a sheltered bay so will see a lot less. Getting some candles and flashlights out just in case. There are a lot of new leaves on the trees so greatly increased wind-load. Branch snaps and falls against the power line?
Fun times for the unprepared.

Tip of the hat to The Gateway Pundit:

Nice that so many people turned out to greet him. After all, he did get 81 million votes to be elected.

Much more at the site - several more videos from different vantage points. No one came out to see him.
Pitiful really...

Not surprised at all - once the bloom is off the rose, people get hit with the reality.
From Business Insider:

1 in 5 electric vehicle owners in California switched back to gas because charging their cars is a hassle, new research shows
In roughly three minutes, you can fill the gas tank of a Ford Mustang and have enough range to go about 300 miles with its V8 engine.

But for the electric Mustang Mach-E, an hour plugged into a household outlet gave Bloomberg automotive analyst Kevin Tynan just three miles of range.

You are trying to pump a LOT of electrical energy back into the battery bank.  Household wiring is not set up for this kind of draw - even if you tap into the 220 leg used for water heaters, ovens and clothes dryers. Tesla's Supercharger stations run on commercial 480 and still take more than one hour for a full charge. Versus under five minutes for a petrolium fuled vehicle.

Not mentioned in the article is that after about eight years (in good weather), the entire battery pack needs to be replaced - north of $16K. Especially now with inflation kicking in.

I would love to have a little runabout for the island but for anything further?  Make mine gasoline (or diesel).

Although, one of these would be a lot of fun to have...

From The Washington Free Beacon:

Major Sanctions Relief on Table for Iran, State Dept. Says
The Biden administration is considering granting Iran significant economic sanctions relief, according to U.S. and Iranian officials, confirming that Iran is making headway in its demand that America unwind many of its most crippling measures.

Negotiations with Iran in Vienna are centered around the scope and scale of sanctions relief, a State Department spokesman told the Washington Free Beacon, confirming similar comments issued this week by Iranian officials. Iran is pushing the Biden administration to nix nearly all of the sanctions applied by the former Trump administration, including those targeting the country’s nuclear program, terrorism operations, banks, and oil trade. The Biden administration says it is willing to lift all sanctions necessary for America to make a full return to the original nuclear accord, known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), which provided Iran with billions in cash assets.

A few steps forward with President Trump and now, sliding a few miles back down the mountain.
Biden's handlers are continuing Obama's program of appeasement.
How many millions is this going to cost us - taxpayer dollars and human lives.
Do not forget:

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Missing something?

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*Resident Biden issued this - from The White House:

A Proclamation on National Day Of Prayer
Throughout our history, Americans of many religions and belief systems have turned to prayer for strength, hope, and guidance.  Prayer has nourished countless souls and powered moral movements — including essential fights against racial injustice, child labor, and infringement on the rights of disabled Americans.  Prayer is also a daily practice for many, whether it is to ask for help or strength, or to give thanks over blessings bestowed.

Seven paragraphs and not one mention of God. Curious.

The Arizona Election audit

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Outta here - dogs need runs

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The last couple days of dog walks were a bit abbreviated so taking them for a nice long walk today.  56% forecast of precip and it is not raining now so time to go.

The usual coffee, mailbox, reading, errands, etc...  Starting some electrical wiring today - having the new main panel is a joy to work with - keep everything nice and neat and clean.

Bunch of children in Colorado - from Conservative Playbook:

Radical Racist ‘Black Hammer’ Group Has ‘Liberated’ 200 Acres In Colorado
A recently formed group of far-left radicals have claimed 200 acres of land somewhere in Colorado. It is unclear if they are occupying the land in similar fashion to Seattle’s Capitol Hill Occupied Protest (CHOP) last year or if they’ve acquired the land through legal means. Either way, it appears they’re moving in and raising money to build their city.

The Black Hammer organization, as they call themselves, has been posting videos and images from the mountainous land that they claim to have “liberated” in some form or fashion. As self-proclaimed anti-colonizers, it seems likely they have simply claimed the land rather than having gone through a legal purchase, but there’s no indication on their website or Facebook page about how the land was acquired. We do know they are attempting to raise $500,000 to build earthbag houses and other buildings for their new city.

Much more at the site.  This is either kiddies running a big LARP game, they are serious or this is just some gigantic troll.  Either way, fun to see while it lasts.  I will give them one late-season snowstorm for them to disband and go back to their mommie's basements.

Talkin' 'bout my g-g-generation

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From Summit News:

Roger Daltrey: The ‘Woke’ Generation is Creating a Miserable World
The Who legend Roger Daltrey says the ‘woke’ generation is creating a miserable world that serves to stifle the kind of creative freedom he enjoyed in the 60s.

The iconic frontman made the comments during a recent appearance on Zane Lowe’s Apple Music 1 podcast.

“I don’t know, we might get somewhere because it’s becoming so absurd now with AI, all the tricks it can do, and the woke generation,” said Daltrey.

“It’s terrifying, the miserable world they’re going to create for themselves. I mean, anyone who’s lived a life and you see what they’re doing, you just know that it’s a route to nowhere,” he added.

The singer noted how he was lucky to have lived through an era where freedom of speech was encouraged, not silenced.

Yeah - no shit. Thanks Millennials. Complain about us Boomers?
You did this.  You so totally own it.

Fun and games - hacking & China

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Asleep at the wheel - from Ars Technica:

More US agencies potentially hacked, this time with Pulse Secure exploits
At least five US federal agencies may have experienced cyberattacks that targeted recently discovered security flaws that give hackers free rein over vulnerable networks, the US Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency said on Friday.

The vulnerabilities in Pulse Connect Secure, a VPN that employees use to remotely connect to large networks, include one that hackers had been actively exploiting before it was known to Ivanti, the maker of the product. The flaw, which Ivanti disclosed last week, carries a severity rating of 10 out of a possible 10. The authentication bypass vulnerability allows untrusted users to remotely execute malicious code on Pulse Secure hardware, and from there, to gain control of other parts of the network where it's installed.

Security firm FireEye said in a report published on the same day as the Ivanti disclosure that hackers linked to China spent months exploiting the critical vulnerability to spy on US defense contractors and financial institutions around the world. Ivanti confirmed in a separate post that the zero-day vulnerability, tracked as CVE-2021-22893, was under active exploit.

No complex software is 100% bug free.  Shit happens.  Still, there is no reason they need to be relying on complex software for doing a simple task like establishing a Virtual Private Network and managing a decent level of encryption. There are plenty of established open source packages to do that. This software has been picked over with a fine-tooth comb and is secure. Creeping featuritis is catnip to bugs and exploits.

"Could you add just this one little feature"
      NO

Shit like this is why.

I had heard that the uppity lawyer was out but had not heard the backstory until now.
From Legal Insurrection:

Coca-Cola Racial Quotas For Outside Counsel Fizzle Out After General Counsel Reassignment
The ex-General Counsel who devised the possibly illegal quotas reportedly received a $4 million payout and is now a special consultant to Coca-Cola earning $666,666 per month for a year. That works out to $12 million this year for screwing up. Woke failure pays well.

What do Coca-Cola and academia have in common? Failure is rewarded, so long as you are woke.

Bradley Gayton failed in less than a year as General Counsel at Coca-Cola. While not all the details are known, Gayton’s imposition of racial quotas on outside law firms doing work for Coca-Cola was an unmitigated public relations disaster, building on Coke flubs in attacking the Georgia voter integrity law, and employee training how to “be less white.”

Considering that the moke was: "a recent hire from the top ranks of Ford" - why did Ford let him go and how much did he get paid to go away quietly? Ford is a very well-run corporation - they do not let fools linger in their ranks. What do they have against Coke - they could have dropped a hint or three.

Wonder where he will show up next - floating his way to the top like a turd in a punchbowl.

Trying out a new setup - different camera and audio.

Had a big lunch today so can of Progresso soup for dinner tonight. Split pea with ham. Yummy.

Quite the dinner date

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True words - Malcom X

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A very wise and prescient man - he was Republican:

20210505-malcomx.jpg

Back home - productive day

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Processed a bunch of electronics - some hifi equipment, a tote full of old (1990's) Apple ][e accessories (no CPU), a GPS and some other fun stuff.

Picked up some electrical wiring gubbins for the music room and loft. Start in on that tomorrow.  Overcast and a bit warm - maybe do a bit more mowing. Meeting at 6:30

And it's work this morning

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Quick dog walk, coffee to go and then voulinteering at the thrift store sorting electronics donations.

Going to run some errands after that - working at home Thursday.  Meeting tonight. Busy.

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Common sense in one meme

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Tales from the deep state

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A couple of headlines:

The total was around $10,000 in several contributions from several people.  What gets me is NOT that our putative leaders can be bought but for how little they recieve for selling us out.

Yeah - long hot summer all over again. Brought to you by the commies in 1967.  Brought to you by the useful idiots of today 54 years later. Fscking activists. A kind of mental illness.

Some good news.  Don't forget that she is making very good money pushing this crap. Great photo at the link - what a harpy.

She is the St. Louis Circuit Attorney - released all those "peaceful" protestors.

Geee - if there was only some way to - 'ya know - restrict travel at the border?
The precursor chemicals are coming in from China and the cartels are making it.
How much money are they paying Pelosi and Schumer to keep the borders open?

This is my surprised face.

And dinner was good

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Truck unpacked, did the chicken with some pasta and some fresh garden peas.  Stopped at Trader Joe's in Bellingham and picked them up along with some other culinary treats.

Putter around for a little bit and then surf some more - quiet news day so far.

Turned into a really nice day - tomorrow is supposed to be good as well.  Working at the store in the morning and then spending the rest of the day working outside and planning Stage Two of the wiring - music room and loft.  A few more outlets in the garage too. Tracing a wire outside - may need to rent a beeper.  These attach to the wire and transmit a low-powered signal.  You then use a probe to follow the signal and the wire.  It heads out into the yard somewhere - suspecting that there is a sump pump at the end of it. Getting the drainage issues sorted out this summer.

Always something new to deal with - fun...

From Minneapolis, Minnesota station WCCO:

Derek Chauvin’s Attorney Files Motion For New Trial
Attorney Eric Nelson has filed a motion for a new trial for former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin in the death of George Floyd.

Nelson filed the motion on the grounds of juror misconduct, and that the court abused its discretion for failing to agree to the defense’s requests for a change of venue and sequestering the jury.

The filing comes in the midst of a controversy surrounding a photo of juror Brandon Mitchell at the March on Washington last August, which included speeches from George Floyd’s family members. He is seen wearing a T-shirt that says “Get Your Knee Off Our Necks.” In his juror questionnaire, Mitchell wrote that he had not attended any protests about police brutality. Mitchell told WCCO Monday that he was at the march in support of ramping up voter turnout for the 2020 presidential election.

Pants on fire. This was a show trial straight out of the Communist playbook.  People need to understand that history repeats.  People did this back in the 1930's and they are trying to do it again.  There is no rational explanation.  Shades of the French Revolution. The history books are littered with cases like this.

Happy Star Wars Day

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May the 4th be with you.  Two memes:

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From America's Newspaper of Record:

Report: Melinda Gates Filed For Divorce After Discovering Windows 95 Launch Video
According to anonymous sources, Melinda Gates filed for divorce from her husband Bill after discovering a shocking video of him dancing on stage to "Start Me Up" by The Rolling Stones during the Windows 95 launch.

"Oh my gosh- my husband is a total dork," said a shocked Melinda Gates, according to one witness. "How could he have hidden this from me for so long? How could I have been so blind? Why did Bill hide this dark secret from me?"

Friends of the family say she quickly filed for divorce citing "irreconcilable differences", likely due to Bill's dark and dorky past.

"He always told me he was a cool guy and really great dancer, and I believed him. I've been living a lie."

Sources also say that since the couple had no prenuptial agreement, Melinda will get Bill's entire fortune, leaving him only with Zune.

The entire clip has been leaked on YouTube and can be viewed below.

Wonderful news - Oregon

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Finally showing some backbone - from the Multnomah County District Attorney:

DA Mike Schmidt files charges after May Day civil unrest in Portland, Oregon
Today, Multnomah County District Attorney Mike Schmidt charged three people connected to the civil unrest that occurred on May Day.

The Portland Police Bureau announced the arrest of six people on May 1, 2021:

    • Three of the arrestees were charged today, May 3, 2021 (see individual case details below.)
    • Two of the arrestees had outstanding warrants. There is no allegation that either committed a new crime on May 1, 2021.
    • One case is referred back to law enforcement for additional investigative follow-up.

The release goes to list the goblins involved - nice people. They need to be seperated from the rest of us for 10-20 years.  Make anarchy not fun. Make people responsible for their actions.  Simple as that.

And back to my Island Home

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"Interesting" day.

Back home - got some stuff to deal with.  Quick surf and then unpack the truck and fix dinner - picked up some baked chix breast at the store.

Got nothing this morning

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In Maple Falls - slept in.  Heading out for coffee and then to the farm.  Meeting with someone later afternoon and then back to the blessed island.

And that is it for tonight

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Full day tomorrow. Back to the island tomorrow afternoon.

She was the project manager for Microsoft Bob! - a half-way decent idea but poorly executed and the laughingstock of geeks everywhere.

They are divorcing after 27 years and three kids.  Wonder what precipitated it and what her chunk of the change will be. BillG has been acting a little off the rails for the last 10-15 years.  Monomaniacal.

I have this theory that he read the Foundation Series when a kid and he envisions himself to be Hari Seldon personified.  Put here on God's green Earth to "nudge" all of us into better behavior. Only he knows what the problem is.  Only he can help fix everything.

The problem is that BillG is just not that smart.  He has a killer business sense, he will out-compete everyone.  Plus, he had the great fortune to be at the right place at the right time (and that Tim Paterson was willing to sell 86-DOS to him). As for creative spark?  Not really there.  MSFT's original core components - MS-DOS, Windows, Word, Excel (subsequently Office) and SQL Database all came from other sources, were purchased and rebranded as a Microsoft Product.

I wish them both well and I especially wish that BillG would get the fsck off the world stage and let things evolve naturally.  Meddling always has unintended consequences and he is surrounding himself with some less-than-optimal people.

Wanted to bring the weed whacker up this trip.  Got it out of the storage unit, fired it up and let it run for a while and promptly left it behind in the garage.  Also, lost one of my keyrings - I have duplicate keys so this is not an issue but a bit bummed as it had one of the first pieces of blacksmithing art I ever made (circa 2004) - a simple leaf but a special one.  I notified everywhere I was today so see what happens.

Picked up some munchies at the food coop and Chef Mike will be doing a dinner entrée for tonight.

See what happened out there while I was on the road...

A simple question

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and a simple answer:

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President Trump - popularity

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Heh - run against President Trump and his policies and see what happens.
Two stories - first? Politico - April 13, 2021:

Meet the Texas veteran who could blaze a trail for the anti-Trump GOP
Criticizing Donald Trump is considered a death sentence for Republican candidates. But Michael Wood’s betting that it will be his lifeline.

Wood is campaigning on an explicitly anti-Trump platform as he competes with 22 other candidates in a special election to fill the seat of the late Rep. Ron Wright (R-Texas), who represented a rapidly diversifying district in the Dallas-Fort Worth suburbs. Wood’s risky strategy centers on a belief there is a healthy slice of the GOP ready to move on from Trump after Jan. 6 — a proposition that will be tested at the ballot box next month.

Wood, a combat veteran and small business owner, has embraced his political identity as a Trump antagonist. He has publicly needled the former president on Twitter, recently declaring that “I’d rather fight for my country and the Constitution on a shoestring budget than kiss that man’s ring at Mar-a-Lago.”

So he has some good points - veteran, business owner.  He is just anti-Trump.
The People spoke - from CNS News - May 3rd, 2021:

Trump-Endorsed Republican Is Top Vote-Getter in Texas Special Election
Susan Wright, the widow of U.S. Rep. Ron Wright, was the top voter-getter in Saturday's crowded race for Texas's 6th congressional seat.

And Mr. Wood?

One of the eleven GOP candidates, Michael Wood, ran on an anti-Trump platform. He received only 3.19 percent of the vote.

The politicians are refusing to listen to their constituency to their own detriment. Pure schadenfreude.

And now I am done for the day

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Had a bunch of yard waste from last fall that was good and dry - nice little burn-pile there.  Already had a few gallons of diesel from my garage space heater so got them taken care of. Soak a roll of toilet paper and it is a great torch for lighting bonfires - do not do this with gasoline.  I learned my lesson once.  2nd degree burns over hands and forearms. WOOF! Diesel fuel has a lot lower vapor pressure and it is a lot safer as a torch.

Dealing with some local politics - always fun stuff...

Up to the farm tomorrow - need to go to Bellingham so driving up tomorrow late morning.  Spending the night there and back down Tuesday.  Big meeting Wednesday so need to be home for that.

Surf for a bit - see if anything turns up.

And somewhat done for the day

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Taking a much-needed Diet Pepsi break. I am about half-way through my fourth case (32 cans) of the stuff.  Still prefer Diet Coke but I seem to be too white for them.

Did some work in the yard and getting ready for Stage Two of the house wiring project.  Stage One was replacing the old breaker panel and putting in all new wiring in the garage. Wiring the upstairs loft (my media computers and will be my office when some furniture is built). This will also encompass the downstairs Music Room - my synthesizer equipment.

I had moved the big modular down here in April of 2020 but only got around to building a stand for them last winter.  Now to get new wiring into the room. I am purposefully NOT getting them set up and playable until I get everything the way I want it to be...  I know myself really well and if I get it kinda-playable, that is where it will stay.  Want to get everything nice and organized first.

Heating up some more of the beef stew for dinner tonight - that and a salad with fresh greens. I love this time of year.  Also, been noticing that the berry stands are starting to set up for their season. Yummmmm...

JP Sears comes out. Courage.

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He has the courage to express his real nature - going through a transition is hard but he is brave:

As the day begins

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Done here - heading out for dog walk, coffee and lingering over a book.  Got the new Clive Cussler action/adventure from the library after a few months wait - popular writer.

Turning into a really nice clear warm day so doing some yard work - batteries are charged on the mower. Rake up the clippings for the compost bin. Change out the hummingbird feeders with new nectar. Clean up some clutter. Good day for just puttering around.

Nothing much happening "out there" - nothing caught my eye.

The Feebs got a Judge to sign a warrant and they busted into his appartment at 6:00 AM a few days ago taking a lot of his electronics equipment. The media was quick to report - they had their own "internal sources" after all.
From the New York Post:

New York Times, WaPo, NBC forced to retract false claims about Giuliani
The New York Times, Washington Post and NBC News all issued retractions Saturday for their coverage of Rudy Giuliani following a raid of his Manhattan apartment by the FBI.

The Times appended their correction to a story about the role Giuliani may have played in the 2019 recall of ambassador Marie L. Yovanovitch and whether he received a warning from the FBI about Russian disinformation.

“An earlier version of this article misstated whether Rudolph W. Giuliani received a formal warning from the F.B.I. about Russian disinformation. Mr. Giuliani did not receive such a so-called defensive briefing,” The Times wrote Saturday in a note attached to the piece.

More at the site - they all got core elements of the story dead wrong.  Funny thing - the reports were all of them MORE damaging to Giuliani than LESS damaging.  It was like they were going out of their way to slam him instead of just making a simple (and random) mistake on their reporting.

Guess they need some new "internal sources"

De Re Metalica

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On the nature of metals.  The first major compendium of everything associated with metalworking - from mining to finished products. First published in Latin in 1556. I ran into a curious note this morning, the first English translation was published in 1950 and was done by Herbert Clark Hoover and Lou Henry Hoover. Husband and wife team. Both engineers. Yeah - that Hoover Dam. Quite interesting lives including a stint as US President.

The Internet Archive has a digitised copy of the Hoover translation here: De Re Metalica - go there just for the illustrations.  Some gorgeous work.

Ten hours of Zzzzzz's

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Delicious.  Fixing some breakfast and then heading out with the dogs for a nice walk. Gorgeous day - sun shining, crisp and cool.  Blue skies, mountains are out, high clouds.

Quick surf, shower and outta here.

And that is it for the day

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Slept in this morning - no problem but really enjoyed the slumber.  Feeling a bit 'drifty' now so watching a few videos and enjoy an early bedtime.

Getting a fire going in the hearth for Beltane in a few minutes - sunset is approaching. Don't know whether to leave an alcoholic drink out or not.  Haven't had any myself in a long long time (since October). Zero desire.  Still have wine and spirits here so will probably leave a neat shot of some decent single malt on the hearth along with a small treat.
Take care of the spirits.   ASM - All Spirits Matter.

Planning to do fsck-all tomorrow.  A day of abject luxurious sloth. Need to fill the hummingbird feeders, have a good run with the pups, get some coffee and that is it for tomorrows agenda. Maybe piddle around the house.  Do some yard work if it is not raining. See what happens.

In these days

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of WOKE and cancel culture.  Let us remember these great words:

I can not imagine a better anthem for Libertarianism.
This is a war and we must learn to fight back.
To punch back twice as hard. To stand up.

A couple of memes

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From various places on the web:

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May First

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Victims of Communism Day - here is a book to commemorate:

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It is also Beltane - a sacred night.
Building a small fire in the fireplace and setting out some food and drink before I go to bed.

From FOX News:

76,000 California inmates now eligible for earlier releases
California is giving 76,000 inmates, including violent and repeat felons, the opportunity to leave prison earlier as the state aims to further trim the population of what once was the nation’s largest state correctional system.

More than 63,000 inmates convicted of violent crimes will be eligible for good behavior credits that shorten their sentences by one-third instead of the one-fifth that had been in place since 2017. That includes nearly 20,000 inmates who are serving life sentences with the possibility of parole.

The largest state correctional system because it is the most populous state - they are not more "into" incarceration than any other state.  I hate to think of what the repercussions will be - high recidivism for sure.

From South Korea's Yonhap News:

N. Korea says Biden 'made big blunder,' warns of 'worse crisis beyond control'
North Korea said Sunday that U.S. President Joe Biden made a "big blunder" after he called Pyongyang's nuclear program a serious threat, warning the U.S. will face a "worse and worse crisis beyond control."

Kwon Jong-gun, director general of the Department of U.S. Affairs of the Foreign Ministry, made the remarks after Biden pledged in his first congressional address last week to work with allies to address "serious threats" from the North and Iran through diplomacy and stern deterrence.

"It is certain that the U.S. chief executive made a big blunder in the light of the present-day viewpoint," Kwon said. "Now that what the keynote of the U.S. new DPRK policy has become clear, we will be compelled to press for corresponding measures, and with time the U.S."

My guess is that the US will comply with whatever North Korea wants - rescind the sanctions, give oodles of "foreign aid" to the kleptocrats in power.  We will be back to where we were in the Carter years.  Except Kim now has nukes and has been working on them for over ten years.

Just wonderful - President Trump actually made some real headway. Now, it's back to square one again.
Liberals never ever learn from their mistakes. They can't study their own history - it would be too depressing.

Back home - good day

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Productive day - ran a few errands and now back home. Picked up some smoked brisket and will have that with pasta (Ditalini, butter and fresh parsley).  Quick surf - making some more nectar for the hummingbirds. Listening to a podcast.

And I am gone for a while

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Slept in - delicious but gotta rush. Dog run, coffee and then work.

So true - these times

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From My Pensieve:

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March 2023

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