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DOES NOT represent any average American life-style.

Warning. This blog has evolved through many phases and earlier posts did not allow for links that go dead or change. I would never intentionally link to a site that requires memberships or similar. Same with sites that don't pass my stringent filtering system. Thus, I encourage readers to NOT follow any links that attempt to redirect, use cookies, or are obvious wrong material for this publication, which is rated PG13.

A reminder to the reader this is not a political blog, but commentary on human behavior. I am not pro-Trump, but pro-American, plus I truly love watching liberal scum squirm. I am not for or against any political party. Liberalism is not a political party, but a social cancer. It is wrong to steal money and it is just as wrong to elect people to steal it for you. One more thing, never argue with a man who buys his printer ink by the barrel.

July 4, 2025

Here's downtown Bowling Green, Kentucky.
Generic videos until I figure out how slope-heads, XYZers, and millennials go about doing things.

July 3, 2025

Yes, folks, 2025 and America's greatest generation still has no universal method to open word processed files. I specified SaveAs doc formats, but they were saved as .page files anyway. I tried to warn these millennials they were setting themselves up, but no, they are too smart to need advice. Kind of bear with the situation, as Google and MicroSoft still have me locked out. Nothing but arseholes work there. They love users too stupid to manage their own security and passwords.

The blog is written, I just need to find out how to save it so it can be read without an Apple computer.

Here's the best I can do. Pictures of Chooks. And that deer skull on the table in the patio. Not mine.

July 2, 2025

Yesteryear
One year ago today: l, Nasville.
Five years ago today: July 1, 2020, remember EuroChat?
Nine years ago today: July 1, 2016, watching the Brexit.
Random years ago today: July 1, 2004,

           For unfathomable reasons, all my chasing around this town is done by noon today. I have one more stop, then wait for deliveries, and I can head home. Nothing to report today. Well, except when I got here, there was no coffee, no paper towels, no potatoes, you know, stuff a man needs. The only thing on the counter was this holistic feline treats.
           Expect interruptions in the blog for a few days. The iMac is a strange enough contraption so I have to relearn all the Apple quirks. I recall the days when Apple was the best, the Cadillac of computers. Now, unless I get one for free I don’t know I’ve use.

Picture of the day.
Great Slave Lake.
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           You might have to wait until I catch up. The iMac has a mouse with no scroll wheel, my fancy unit is missing, and the library is closed tomorrow.

Last Laugh

July 1, 2025

Yesteryear
One year ago today: July 1, 2024, remember the fence.
Five years ago today: July 1, 2020, advertising, the American Blight.
Nine years ago today: July 1, 2016, England’s going crazy.
Random years ago today: July 1, 2004, my bank balance.

           Looks like I got here just in time. It’s 9:30PM and I’m Tennessee. Thanks to a two-hour standstill on the freeway south of Dalton, GA, it was the last two hours driving in darkness. You know how much I love that. Here’s just the highlights. I left the cabin just after dawn, driving the beautiful KIA, what a treat. Most everything works. And it’s got a great sound system, allowing me to listen to my audiobooks. I’ll tell you what was wise, spending extra to get the alignment and tires balanced up to 88 mph. Crank up the sound, crank up the A/C, hit the cruise control and I was in Valdosta by 10:30AM.

           Here’s me following Tonio to the steak place. He’s not the owner of two boxes, one Z-box and the latest T-box. We went over the construction in some detail while catching up on the past 11 months. I reported the sad tale from the trailer court, about the $4,666 quote on the transmission and the months-long consequence of that. He’ still in the towing business, which I view as highly competitive.
           We stopped at Austin’s, a Georgia chain. And I opted for the steak burger upon learning it is ground from real steak trimmings. Tonio got himself a porterhouse this big. Here’s pictures of the huge portions. What? Gone? You must have blinked.

           Nothing else to report, I took the same beaten path, with the usual needless delays around Atlanta. I mentioned Dalton, where I’d normally stop, but traffic was blocked. A semi-trailer had caught fire south of town. No casualties just the center of the truck and it was off to the side of the road, no apparent reason to block all three lanes. I appreciate first responders, but that fire had been out for an hour, earning them the finger from me. Nobody was hurt, there were no ambulances, just the frame of a semi-trailer in the ditch and fifteen people standing around moving very slowly and ignoring the 23 miles of backed up traffic.

Picture of the day.
Hotel Lucine, Galveston
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           Did I say just in time? No coffee, no Carnation, no paper towels, and not even one beer in the fridge. She was not home, so I supposed she had the dog, but it turned out sleeping upstairs. Yep, folks, you know when you become furniture, the signs are everywhere. The only thing to greet me as a jar of holistic natural Feline Greats. That’s not a cup of coffee, it is some crystals a found and tried to fake a coffee. Coffee’s what I missed not stopping in Dalton and I was crank and desperate, so desperate that I poured this out and drank tea.

           She’s had company, see, so all my razors and coffee pods were gone. And there is a pet Mexican black snake in JeePee’s turtle home. However, Tennessee is great for my sleep patterns and I fell into a the first deep sleep in days. Zonked. Nothing to eat in the house except health food. I found a can of beets with sea salt. And that, folks, is what I got for my midnight snack. And Lillie, the cat, knowing I’d break down, got me to share a can of tuna. Beets and tuna, that was my welcome home.


           The dog finally came downstairs. Oh, wait, there is come good news. Later, when she got home and woke me up running the carpet sweeper over my chest for crumbs, I went upstairs as some of the mail was in the office. The point is, I went up and down the stairs with zero pain. Just like that, and I did find the missing $100. The bank I use treats each CD as a separate account and they move through their system at differing rates.
           Not only that, the company uses my gear and doesn’t remember to clean it. There was a crust in my coffee maker, took be fifteen minutes to clear. But not another cup of tea, Actually, I like tea but it does not have enough oomph. The neighbor reports the doggie is getting out of the fence again. Sigh, the handyman’s work is never done. But a carpet sweeper, this is the thanks I get? It’s a good thing I like playing bass a lot as I shudder to think other people’s destiny could be even less. Yep, drinking tea and eating beets. Never mind, get some sleep.

Last Laugh

June 30, 2025

Yesteryear
One year ago today: June 30, 2024, stolen by cellphone.
Five years ago today: June 30, 2020, begin building work shed.
Nine years ago today: June 30, 2016, the bathroom takes priority.
Random years ago today: June 30, 1982, 25 cartons stolen.

           After my shots, I stopped at the bank to learn due to new regulations my funds are not held 20 days instead of 10. As usual, my system will just flex to it as another annoyance. Is it the tariffs or crazy politics. I suppose “rich” folks like me who have foreign bank accounts can, in their eyes, wait my turn. I was famished by noon and took a recommendation on the fish & chips at Glory Daze Grill, over on Harden Road, where I rarely drive since my last band mostly died. It was filling but not all that legendary. The coleslaw was watery and the fries not crisp. Twenty bucks.

           I measured out more pieces for the T-Box, but that prototype is not likely to happen until I get some real chasing around done. The product will involve some angle cuts meaning I really need that radial arm saw in Tennessee. I’ve decided to reinforce my saw lean-to roof with 4x4” posts and make room for it, the space for it having proved very dry and surprisingly cool of the sunny side.

           Cost-saving is still in effect and I have decided to see if a better roller guide system will make my band saw at lease useable again. My kaput Kenwood is to become the work shed radio, replaced by the $200 emergency PA system I bought in St. Petersburg. It means I can operate four instruments as one, eliminating the need to have a separate bass amp in the office.

           Here is a video of the first brainstorming session of the T-Box. Yes, that is the club. Didn’t I mention Wilford is the bartender? Because I know I’ve reported that place is now so dead on Mondays that we have the place free for meetings and discussion. You can thank a bit of insomnia or steroid shots that this unit was completed in time for transport to Georgia tomorrow.

           A wait at the railroad crossing has our detective team breaking the case. The ladies Rape Club, as I call it, has board members who fly around in charted jets. That’s how our cop knows them. The club head honco is also a member and head of the police crime lab. There have been seven murders and finally, a link. The same rent-a-jet at four of the homicides was rented to the Club the same week as the murders. All the ladies have solid alibis, but one of the airport people remembers the pilots.
           Both ex-military, both with combat experience, who only flew together. And both flaming feminist lesbians who live at the same address. If it’s them, they were getting the dead case information from the honcho, who could claim innocence unless the cops trick/blackmail her. And I want to see the trick they use.

           I just got an email from Hermitage. Not next week, not this weekend, I am packing my suitcases now when I get home this afternoon. I know when the Reb is not asking for anything it means job pressure. And I need her in top condition, she records, I do no, and I know the pressure. Taking the dogs and keeping the house in order takes a huge chunk of that away. I’ve mentioned before she is more prone to trust likeable people than I am, a condition based on likeability. Or as I sometimes put it, they are nice but they are not family.

Picture of the day.
Peaks of Otter (Virginia).
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           Mercifully, the major pains began to abate after this morning’s round of shots. Mind you, the locations the pain still retain a slight tenseness and inflexibility to remind me they are resident, see addendum. So little happened, you get a jumble of the “top stories” around here. Top it off by losing my phone, which I never do. I don’t take it with me to appointments or banks, so I left it hanging by the door, I think. It was not there. I tore apart two vans, the silo, the laundry room both bedrooms and the workshed.

           It was by the door, but the wind slammed the door, knocking the phone off the peg and into the laundry basket and a couple shirts got tossed on top. I moved four convenient boxes into the KIA and parked it ready to roll. Alarm set for the most common time I wake up in my whole live, 5:30AM. In the process I found other stuff I needed so the trade-off it that stuff in now in boxes. It still a jumble but now I know where to look.

           Here is an example of how the WPMs, same as the old days, attract a log of attention. While the club is 90% empty Mondays most people that come in are old regulars who avoid the weekend shigga-booga. The meetings are held at the unpopulated end of the bar but the interest level is through the roof. I mean, what else ever happens in a club in central Florida of any creative or academic import? Shown here are two locals examining for ideas. One is the lumber yard guy and the other was on vacation in Mexico with his dad and found his way around with such ease when he realized, he was in Yucatan and was remembering my descriptions of the place many years ago. How about that?

           Fast forward. It is now 4:00AM and I may get away early. Sleeplessness from the shots means I have not slept at all, so why idle away any time. This puts arrival in Valdosta early, maybe Tonio and I can have a longer meeting. He is now the #2 idea guy behind Wilford, who has the inestimable advantage of seeing circuits, boxes, and other prototypes on a weekly basis. Here is a third look at the box, the premise being that somebody, somewhere will always need an good, strong, somewhat overbuilt wooden box.
           I have a variant theory on these sessions. You are going to get a lot of simple “dumb ideas”. I observe closely. Why? Because while not many of the ideas go anywhere, it is day later that some combination of those lights a bulb. The majority of most changes incorporated once a working model is produced, as shown here, is one of those combinations. I know the box has to be lined and one guy said glue pebbles. Too expensive, but did I not see a type of waterproof 3D stone wallpaper at Dollar Tree? And that is what I’m talking about.
           Hopefully, you also had a fun-filled June 30, 2025, except for the shots.

ADDENDUM
           The fourteen countries on Earth that have never been invaded by Great Britain. (They also have no oil and no central banking system.)

Chad
Mongolia
Guatemala
Bolivia
Sweden
Central African Republic
Paraguay
Ivory Coast
Belarus
Congo
Uzbekistan
Mali
Tajikistan
Kyrgyzstan

           Invaded here seems to mean uninvited British military showing up on your turf and acting like they own the place. Fast forward to the clinic this morning. I handed the doc a three-page printout of my symptoms and side-effects over the previous week. He took time to go over each (neck, leg, back), all of which are listed as possible, but noted most patients have one or two. He also remembered my original chart that explained I am sensitive to any drug including aspirin. Rather than the four customary deep shots, these were eight shallow jabs accompanied by many questions if I felt any “zings” or any pain elsewhere. Negative.
           The neck and leg pains are not enough to stop normal activity, they are enough to slow me down. We went over this for several minutes. Once he learned I could function, even with uncomfortability, his concern noticeably dropped a few degrees. I take it if you can move much at all, you are deemed a survivor.
           In lesser importance, my appetite is still wonky. I’m drinking twice as much water, easy to measure as I keep the big glasses Karla gave me chilled in the fridge. I never mind much as the Reb drinks even more than that a day and she’s the healthiest person I know. But, I get a hankering for juice and milk. I rarely drink milk and even then opt for chocolate Add two quarts of that per day and that’s what, 10% of my body weight? Did I just say “uncomfortability”?

Last Laugh

June 30, 2025

Yesteryear
One year ago today: June 29, 2024, a croon band.
Five years ago today: June 29, 2020, I tolerate losses, you see.
Nine years ago today: June 29, 2016, dirty, dusty work.
Random years ago today: June 29, 2012, avoid the BR-6000.

           The woodpeckers get a Sunday treat. This is suet with blueberries, almond slivers, and black oil sunflower. It’s a half-ration because they will take their time if peanuts are available in the tube feeder. Too much and the suet goes bad. No plans for today means a list of unplanned things to compare to other unplanned days. Let me play bass for 30 minutes and decide if I want to go downtown. I’m not happy with my stereo giving out.

           I wanted to hear another chapter of “Justice Denied” so I rechecked the wiring on my invertor. That red fault light also stops the unit from working, so I double rechecked. Got it. When the van is idling, the charging system can’t quite activate the device, so tap on the gas and it works. When there’s time, I’ll install a capacitor. It’s that once a system lets you down in this fashion, it can never be trusted again.

           Our cops are closing in and I wanted to hear about their tactics because I do not believer cops should be allowed to break the law. And these two broke them steadily, smug in their belief a conviction would absolve their wrongdoings. It irks me so many otherwise intelligent people think that is okay—and are the first to be outraged when it happens to the. For example, they corner this guy who is under no obligation to talk to them but so they “blackmail” him. He has a plane to catch and they illegally block his way. They demand to know if he knows so-and-so. He is under zero obligation to talk to them, but they won’t get out of his way. Here is how the blackmail works.

           He is under no obligation to answer anything, but if he doesn’t he misses the plane. If he says he does not know them, he’s arrested for lying even though he is not under oath. If he say yes, he’s arrested as a suspect and the Fifth Amendment says he does not have to testify against himself.
           And if he says nothing, the cops have the TSA impound his beautifully restored 1956 Lincoln Continental Mark II. If he asks for a lawyer they foot-drag until he misses the flight. No, I am no okay with this type of tactic and he should be able to sue for damages if, in fact, the police pull this stunt on him. I remind the reader I did not say it was wrong, I said I did not like it.

           There are several counterplots coming together, as the Mexican police say a nun is one of the suspects. I wound up driving for over an hour, to Ft. Meade, getting caught in a forty-minute cloudburst that had freeway traffic down to 15mph. This was a downwash of great proportion. When it lightened, I drover 40mph to the next town and mailed some letters. And relaxed finally enough to feel creative. I thought about the planter some more and have the plan clear in my head. The box ends are 8-1/2” side at the ends, and a concrete block is 8x8x16”. I have a cozen of them by the failed potato ground.

           It the ends are cut at an angle to just fit over the block, say one at each end, you would have a solid planter hard to tip over. The box is 32”, two blocks means a symmetrical 16” in the center. If I get the angle right, it should look fine. I see there are quite a number of common sizes, but I do wish these metric people would go get their own Internet. You know, so people who want metric can go there. And I got another question the Internet does not want to answer. I know I can’t be the only one who hits this barrier so often because that would mean the Internet is chock full of stupid.

           The question is how to set the depth on my pneumatic stapler. Right now, it drives the staples and nails too deeply into the wood, leaving a scar. There is a nut with an Allen head on the safety slide and an adjustable nut on on the trigger assembly, but no instructions. The on-line literature mentions a depth setting but that’s it.

Picture of the day.
Native Indian “bent tree” trail marker.
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           Tomorrow is my last appointment and I believe I will bring these side effect to their attention. They’ve read my reports but there is a routine to the sessions that say they are used to side-effect, but a the same time I know too many other people would be howling and screaming for pain-killers by now. I don’t expect comfort, but some of these pains have persisted nearly a week now. I did some shopping and walking without difficulty but not without pain.

           I stopped for a two pieces of lumber and the people there noticed that cold blast and that nobody even a few blocks away had any such chill. Must be one of them-there anomalies. As a treat, I bought myself a 240 watt version of my 400W inverter. It’s rated for a laptop, so it will run my CD player in the Hyundai without the mess of wires from my handiwork. I may even build a box to hold these as a portable unit. I do not know if it will operate my bass amp.
           On the way back, I stopped for a loaf of garlic bread at Wal*mart. The usual bustle is gone and higher prices very evident. I got twenty bucks says the snipers killing firefighters in Idaho are Democrat fanatics.

           A word of caution, these invertors are not what most people think they are. They can and will wreck your car battery if you leave them plugged in. Car batteries are not made for recharging, but marine batteries are—if you can afford them. However, marine batteries do not like invertors and will get harder to charge. My unit is not connected directly to the car system, but through a separate panel with an lighted kill switch which must be operated every time the van is started. It’s a bitch because it means the CD cannot remember where it left off, but such is life in super-modern hyper-connected millieXYZ America.

           Um, maybe another word of caution. The invertor does not produce a pure sine wave, yet for some reason there are still a lot of products at require it. You’d expect “dumb” devices to work well, since they don’t have sensitive parts, but not so. You can’t get much dumber than an electric blanket, but they are very sensitive because of the thermostat control. I’ve been meaning to test this, but I have left my blankets on low setting before.
           For those curious what the incompatibility is, a modified sine was is a series of “block” steps up and down, trying to emulate the smooth pure sine wave. That means when it hits the zero mark between positive and negative, there is a very short moment when the power level is flat and I’ve read that this can damage sensitive gear, as it is difficult to get it to stay at exactly zero. Don’t quote me on this.

           Here is the pretty but still unidentified orange flower that takes over the back yard. The closest I find are the Lantana and Sahuarita, but they don’t have as much color variation. Any news? The fine for overstaying on immigration is now $1,000 per day. Some say the way you behaved in the early COVID days is a revelation of your true personality. That scares a lot of people.

Last Laugh

June 28, 2025

Yesteryear
One year ago today: June 28, 2024, Sammy is 106.
Five years ago today: June 28, 2020, even ex-employees, now.
Nine years ago today: June 28, 2016, the Miami cesspool.
Random years ago today: June 28, 1982, yep, 1982.

           Two orders of pancakes, made them myself. Ate ‘em, too. I made my first mistake of the day soon as I got up, so do I use that as an excuse to take the whole day off? Only coffee will tell. Tonio, from Valdosta, is the idea man. Other people don’t take my boxes seriously and don’t give me constructive feedback. So, I’m putting the KIA back on the road July 1, and making plans shortly after to visit. He’s pointed out a situation that’s same as here—soil that will not grow small domestic plants. His idea is planter, small enough to keep on a balcony. Maybe I could do that today, I think I have just enough spare lumber.

           Tonio has not seen the boxes, but has seen photos of the “beehive” stacks. That’s where the idea of the double-length-same-width idea arrived. Caution, once again I see I am getting whammied by my age-old tendency to be satisfied with the “paperwork”. That is, once I know I could plan out a working model, I tend to move on rather than make the mode, why that’s the engineer’s job. I’m hoping that I enjoy making the boxes enough to fight this very real temptation in my life.

           My gawd, have you see the shit-hole that Coney Island has turned into? The beaches are covered in filthy garbage. I’ve never been there, but I remember when I had my paper route and lots of comics, there were coupons to visit the park. Now, you don’t go near the place. There are daily knife fights and people shitting on the sand. You mention it to New Yorkers and they all say the problem will be solved by electric cars.

                      What the? We are used to flash rains here, how about this one. I was in the Hyundai rigging up a power supply for the CD player. Watching usage, I noticed I don’t need the Yeti when the motor is running, the only time I use the disk player. So I wired up an old 400W Chicago Electric invertor, tested perfect on the bench. Crap, it won’t power the CD. A red fault light blinks on and guess what all the on-line literature never mentions. A storm blew in and I stepped out of the van door. Fifteen degree drop in temperature, this is impossible in Florida Cold rain, Seattle rain. Here is a mockup of the planter undergoing flower-box testing.

           Already labeled the T-box after Tonio, this rectangular model can easily be changed to fancy-pants angle cuts. I have just the saw that can do it, but it’s in Tennessee at the moment. You might say this box is “design-free” because besides using existing jigs, its dimensions are dictated by my existing cutting equipment, assembly, and storage space.
           I found some trapezoidal plans on-line which offered no new ideas. Tonio mention the need for a base and a light bulb came on. Any wooden frame will be “tip-over-able”, right? What can be done to prevent that? It’s only a concept right now, but think of a recessed base, just an inch deep. Okay, now imagine that space is just enough to fit over a standard size concrete building block. See how easy thinking gets when you’re up early?
           I already thought of a model that could fit down across the top of a concrete block wall to discover somebody beat me to it. Yes, but what if you don’t want a solid concrete wall? It’s refill time.

           Later, nothing in the news about that freeze and it’s back up to 80°F. Totally unheard of weather, that is. I cut some pieces for the planter, 32” long and leaving the width the same as the box jig, 9” seems wide enough to fit clay pots. I stopped at the Treasure Barn as I’ve lost the number of my contact, she was not in. The plan is to lower the price until the boxes sell themselves or $4.00, whichever comes first.
           Scientific American reports a group of extinct people in Columbia that is barely related to other tribes in the area. From around 6,000 years to 4,000 years ago they lived almost two miles above sea level, barely mingling with other inhabitants. I suspect the tests need repeating and note that the article specifically avoids saying they might have been Europeans. What’s truly astonishing is Scientific American did not mention climate change.
           The Supreme Court is again sticking its nose where it does not belong. I am neither for or against pornography. That is the responsibility of the parents, but it raises questions. They want age verification, but that conflicts with people’s right to privacy. The Internet shows how narrow the gap is between ID and recording what people do. Odd that somebody has not yet invented some way to tell age without paperwork.

Picture of the day.
Ace of Clubs house, Texarkana.
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           A missing afternoon and my computer sound system just quit working. That’s my beauty of a Kenwood KR-A46. It lasted only nine years and I’ll test it as often the radio keeps working, which is why my sheds have great sound systems. I see and upsurge of complaints when I check Gab for memes, focused on men who don’t trust women and feel they’ve been pre-judged failures in the dating game. While I agree, I say tough luck, as fifty years ago I learned women will go for the guy who hands them the biggest line of plausible bullshit.

           The problem these boys is their bullshit isn’t up to par, it’s garden variety. I won’t get into it except to say both my brothers fell into that trap, never got past first base. Mind you, the younger brother did put the rod to Tammy Roberts back when she was a babe, but her father put a quick stop to that. Her brother, by the way, was the character who once in a while did get higher exam marks that I did, but I discount that because he had space and time at home to study. I either learned it in the classroom or it was gone.

           Shown here is my plan for the base plate in the rejuvenated wagon. Treated planks. The reasoning is I have used that wagon so little that if the planks ever need replacing, I could do that when I’m 80. It’s treated lumber that could last longer than me. I also fitted a tube down the middle of the peanut feeder and learned several concepts. One is that the tube will not stay down the middle by itself, the peanuts shove it over. But until I find time, it stays lopsided. The birds are very spoiled eaters and they will bind a way.
           Still having sleep disruptions, I read more of “Critical Judgment”, the condensed book. There are parts that seem familiar, so who knows, it’s wasting time on the doc breaking up with her old boyfriend. The plot is mostly Erin Brokovich but with a doctor who figures out there is cadmium poisoning being covered up by the hospital, with the usual car chases and bizarre behaviors. Before I knew it, I was still wide awake at 2:00AM, rare for me.

           Because I so much want the injections to work and am so leery of surgery, I spent an hour thoroughly documenting every side effect, with diagrams. The gout-like foot pain is worst yet it is only casually mentioned as a side-effect. It’s not as bad a real gout, but I have, over the years, grown fond of walking a lot.

           Tell you where I could use some help, it’s this growing pile of leftover wood slats. They are created by the newer box designs and are just slightly too narrow or too short. Think of something, let me know, get mentioned (anonymously) is this, the granddaddy of all personal advertisement-free big blogs.
           Before you start, some criteria. The slats are too thick to be cut by laser and unwieldy to cut with a full-size chop saw. If your design works, they can all be trim sawn to the same width. There is progress setting up my old table saw that will not cut long pieces, but will be set up to do nothing but slice wood and cut notches 1/4" to 3/8” inch wide using a temporary fence template. This takes care of 4/5ths of the cutting I now do on the neighbor’s saw.

           In a surprise but logical move, Trump has banned immigrants from sending money back to their home countries. That removes the largest incentive for most of the illegals and they had it coming. They are illegal and that makes the money illegal. Countries like Mexico are pretty much propped up by this cash called “Envio” after a big company that wires the funds. This could make a real difference and I hope it does.
           One of Germany’s WWII weapons was the “Amerika Bomber” and I sought a balanced documentary, as it was ahead of its time. No other aircraft could cross the Atlantic. Instead I got that inane “Britannica” take that Germany was full of crackpots. It was true, the Germans needed a knockout blow, but the correct take is that they almost succeeded. They had no monopoly on failed systems. It’s wearisome to hear, 80 years after the war, comments that the plane was not just a weapon, but a “nazi attempt to impose power on a global scale”.
           Still not steady on my feet, I looked over some on-line movies, all youTube offerings. I chose one I’ve not seen in years, “Empire of the Sun”, great cinematography with accurate weapons, uniforms, and scenery.

ADDENDUM
           Big Media is having a fit that anti-scale barriers are going up around the White House. But only if Trump does it, they forget that Biden did that every few weeks for years. It’s probably nothing more than to keep out paid professional agitators on July 4th, but here are some of my favorite comments from speculators:

√ Netanyahu is now officially your President.

√ Dollar devalued and back on the gold standard.
√ Nothing but Jews now allowed in the White House.
√ All queers to be rounded up and sterilized.
√ Black welfare queens must name the fathers.

           PS: One good thing about back pain is this month I came in $300 under budget.

Last Laugh

June 27, 2025

Yesteryear
One year ago today: June 27, 2024, worst debate ever.
Five years ago today: June 27, 2020, 2/5ths of a fan.
Nine years ago today: June 27, 2016, it still needs painting.
Random years ago today: June 27, 2013, I got singled out.

           An expensive decision for me, the Hyundai is getting some form of coverage to make it legal. No collision, just minimal liability. This took a half-hour by phone and shows the advantage of dealing with professionals in Tennessee. As I said to the Reb, that’s why I have always gone into that office and paid cash. They sure do remember me, and so much as told me I have an “extended” grace period on my policy. Now, I’d like to take a trip for sure. Let’s put the foam mattress back in the KIA and get ready for what happens in July.

           We have a message from the Prez in his new mansion in the north. He’s a trout fisherman and mentions a stocked stream near his place. He knows I want to visit Nashville and reports a ferocious heat wave all east of Memphis. He’s found a nearby open mic, though that is not a good substitute for daily band work, and I’m certain his duo experience and gigs, he’ll find something shortly. A lot of people tell me they had forgotten how much fun music was until they found a character like me who will play any gig for the sake of it. Let me look up trout recipes.

           Activity. The morning was taken up getting the vans ready, that’s my shortcut name for the SUVs. The KIA did not get test started last month at the height of my situation and I had to jumpstart it. The door handle ($350) is still broken but the inherent quality of the vehicle shows through. Easy to slide in and out of, great stereo, arctic A/C, and soon, a bed on the floor. That’s not the best spot, but I like the space to be down inside the van with no outside looking in. There two boxes are the special pine wood from last month when I was looking for cedar. That’s a nice-looking set of boxes, however the wood proved difficult to work with.
           Mind you, the interiors of the vans are nice now, nothing rolling around because it won’t fit in some millennial’s brain-fart idea of what a storage compartment should be. And we don’t have to worry about filling a box up because just grab another box. Both vans are backed up to the side door. We have another problem, dammit. I am missing two pieces of equipment. Or, I should say misplaced. One is my battery charging crate with the load tester and spare cables.

           That gave me a chance to test my lithium booster pack first time and it works fine. Visible in the next photo is the KIA with the hatch open and there is the small cooler. Actually, it is too large for anything I’ve ever used it for. If I stop, it’s for coffee and so why not grab a sandwich and back on the road wondering how I just got skinned for nearly ten bucks.
           The second missing item is my “channel router”, that tool I modified for one task, to cut the grooves for the top and bottom panels of small boxes. I know what causes most misplaced tools around here. Rain. When you’re at work and a storm hits, I grab the tools and set them under the nearest cover. So they are around somewhere, just not where and when I need them. Following my rule to knock off when I make a dumb mistake (a bad saw kerf) means it is 1:00PM and siesta time.
           I’m still restless from the shots, so I picked up a Reader’s Digest condensed book. It’s another “plague” plot, where the doc moves to a small town to find the locals kicking off early, and there’s a battery factory up the creek owned by one evil family. I should go looking for that missing box, it is 28” long and did not blow over in the wind. Ka-ZAPP, that one hit my yard, and what a downpour. Fast, too, maybe 90 seconds warning. And the pain in my foot, now that it is localized, it is gout pain. No question, that is gout and again, not in the node where most people get hit.
           Later, after reading more of the condensed book, I may have seen this movie. I’m barely started and we have children with strange sores, her boyfriend has mood swings, and there’s the hermit who lives in a cave who is really a university professor.

Picture of the day.
Wimbi Beach bar (Mozambique).
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           Deep power nap when the Reb calls. She’ll be away the first weekend again, so it will be just the pooch and I home alone. He follows me room to room in guard mode, but it’s some manner of instinct because he isn’t protective that much. She says he does not get that much exposure to other top dogs which makes sense. If she’s in the studio, that means adventure with the dog that gets more places and eats more steak than half of Nashville.

           Here’s some planks I’m lining the bed of the KIA with to keep the mattresses in place. Then a series of planks over the top to form a raised work deck. I’m bringing back tools and maybe those lawn mowers for the Texan. This trip is mostly business, though I may take the scenic route yet. Each time I use the bedding, I cut a frame that fits around the memory foam which I later for my pressure points, making a new frame pretty much every time. I waited until the cooler evening and now that’s done I want to go downtown. I know, how about downtown Bartow? Watch the local clubs slowly dying because they did not hire my band, there, I said it.

           Later, I can provide a little evidence the other clubs are also waning. If any one had gone country, they'd be laughing today. I went out to the north end to check on my inquires and none of it is good news. Irene is moved away, some relative in Massachusetts got her to move there after her daughter died. Remember Karaoke Bill? He’s gone now, two years. By the last time I saw him he said he was quitting the business, so I never thought about it. Cancer, in one node on his neck, to his throat, and two weeks later, he’s history. Also that guy who always sang at Bill’s show, copied some of my material, he did. All gone.
           Kooter’s is not the nicest place but it is the closest atmosphere to a country bar left in the city. There was a crowd tonight, just not inside. They have a huge treed parking lot around back, and the club is only licensed for wine and beer. So where there are 30 trucks in the shade, you know what’s up. I sang one tune. On the way home I swung past the old club and for the first time ever, I saw it empty. Not one person inside at 9:30PM, prime time and nobody there. Maybe earlier or later, but I have never seen that club empty on a weekend before.

ADDENDUM
           Illinois U. announces the creation of a new “identarian” certificate in “Queer Studies”. It seems these dating apps are serious about stopping White people from searching White profiles. Few are surprised to learn CBS blocked their reporters from using the word “riot” and mandated half the people interviewed had to be non-White. I’m now solidly on the side of people who say whose who create news rather than report it should not be granted freedom of the press.

Last Laugh

June 26, 2025

Yesteryear
One year ago today: June 26, 2024, an amp (transistor) design.
Five years ago today: June 26, 2020, scooters, peaches, Chinese spyware.
Nine years ago today: June 26, 2016, I was Starbucks serious.
Random years ago today: June 26, 2009, half a billion.

           Not a good start, I feel like my left leg is mildly sprained. While slowly fading, this is unlike anything before and of course I say it is from the shots. The first solution is to put on the coffee, when that failed, I was back in the sack until noon. It was a fitful sleep any only some advanced navigation study kept my interest. Do I mention this unique combination to the clinic? Well, you see doc, it happened while I was fixing a shoe in my box shed between my line-dance lesson and calculating the sidereal angle of Regulus. This, folks, is why I keep a month’s supply of coffee in the cabin.

           Now, seriously, this pain is new to me but I’ve heard others describe the same, so no panic. The snag is, I was planning a road trip. Unless this abates, I’m not straying far from home. My walking radius is reduced to maybe fifty feet and I will not put that to any test. So what can we find of interest today? You know the rules, it has to be new, or a novel approach to something old. I need gas in the van, how about we drive to Bartow for that and listen to the detective story with the A/C on full blast. See, I knew you could do it. First, more coffee.

           Let’s do a quick check. Silver is $36.90, no vacuum tube orders, yes, the new tires will cost at least $900, and it is past noon with me undecided. Mind you, that is undecided with a big mug of fresh coffee at hand, who could ask for anything more. See that diagram? That was pain centers two days ago. Now it is legs and I have no diagram for that. So how about this downloaded photo of a gal with long shapely legs? Now, that’s my style. You don’t see that at the line-dancing club. Want to know a neat trick?
           These days you get that unasked-for A.I. synopsis when you do a search. I would not mind if it was factual info, but it is a summary gleaned from millions of opinions and we know there are millions of idiots out there. If you include the F-word in your search criteria, you will get the same results with the A.I. switched off. They will eventually shove the A.I down our throats, but this trick works for how.

           Then there’s the article by the woman stating men preferred debt-free virgins without tattoos. I’m surprised she’s still alive. I read all 200 comments and one thing stands out. Most women would rather die alone than admit their mistakes. The vast majority of these lonely women share one characteristic—they had nothing to offer once they squandered their youthful charms.
           I know the answer, but they would never listen. Always make sure you have something to offer the world commensurate with your age. The last thing I figure most women would like about me is my looks. Hell, I look like a cross between an Amish farmer and Colonel Sanders. But I had four ladies pawing me last night. And another two, including the okay-looking skinny one come over after to check out what I was writing.

           There you have it, even if I’m mistaken about their motives or if I’m bragging or whatever, I had six women break the ice with me. Why might I think that? Because there were four men in the room and I’m the only one the women approached. Yes, as a matter of fact, I do base a lot on things like that. It’s my option and besides, I believe that one day, some day, somehow, one of these women will be a keeper that I could never have any other way.
           Meanwhile, yep, I do a lot of griping, but only about the quality, not the quantity. Speaking of poor quality, the MicroSoft bastards got me again. It must be some kind of update, but it placed two non-deletable icons in my navigation pane. To be totally annoying, the focus changes to “Home” every damn time you go to use the pane. And these MicroSoft AOLs wonder why nobody with brains ever pays for their stupid software.

Picture of the day.
The Astolat Dollhouse.
(Around $8.5 million.)
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           By early afternoon, it’s day off time. All I accomplished this time was printing up a batch of Made-in-America stickers, two letters, an hour of solid bass work, and a couple more chapters of technical material. Let’s scan the news. Yet another court decision on abortion, an issue with four sides. Those for it and want to force you to pay for it, and those against who don’t want to pay. The fight is intractable because those who want the taxpayer to pick up the tab will call them killers if they don’t. For me, it is a private issue between a women and her doctor—but I don’t want to pay for it either way.

           I’m short on thrilling events to report, so how about this template pattern? I spend some hours on it when you include the research. This is dog-ear end piece of a larger “6-inch” fence picket used in the Z-box. What looks an easy pattern has to be carefully worked out for symmetry. One of the pegs is a fraction of an inch too long; I’ll deal with that later.
           The pegs are actually a zig-zag pattern, if you look closely one has five pegs, the mate has six. There are a variety of considerations but at least the wood is of fairly consistent thickness. I’d like to have one jig to cut both Z-Box and J-Box pieces, if possible. That entails, for example, the spacing of the pegs to allow for the lid cut. Ideally you don’t want to slice through a peg, meaning there are only two fixed positions where it works, so do it right and plan ahead.

           CNN tried a hit piece on the B-2 pilots who bombed Fordow and got their media arses kicked. It’s true, dating sites are going to enforce non-White profiles on searchers. We’ll see if any survive. Here we go with the crop circle hoax again. The gang member the Democrats brought back from El Salvador may be headed to a Somalian prison, ha-ha. All hail the beaver who took out cell service over half of northern B.C. Kudos to the 14-year-old schoolboy’s team who waxed the Swiss women’s pro team 7-1.
           There is some evidence the Iranian bombing mission was 15 years in the planning. The word is Trump has finally cut off NPR and PBS.

           Later, the day is a rare writeoff for me. Other than the trivial stuff mentioned, I’ve not moved. A weak feeling with pains, I finally took a pain killer, which dampened things enough that I fell asleep sitting up until dark. The leg pain is like gout and just enough to make today a full stop. I stayed put, though I did spent some hours on bass technique. You want to hear about that? Okay, but it is kind of, what’s the word, “inscrutable”. But here goes.
           Most bass playing is best around a sort of neutral tone. Not too biting, not too boomy, and without a lot of distorting, slapping, popping, or detectible “guitar” nuances. This is where finger-bassists have a shortcoming. With few exceptions, the way they “pluck” the string imparts a faint uneven wobble, similar to how some people say a short “uh” at the end-uh of-uh each-uh word-uh. The only way I know of to eliminate it is by playing with a pick, however, this has to be learned.

           Usually it can be left alone but that isn’t professionalism. The negative effect is worst during songs with a shuffle bass, and that is a third of my song list. It has to be “unlearned” by going over each base line and memorizing, as in muscle memory, just how to hold the pick right. Hardest tune I’ve every had to smooth out this way was the Pretenders “Chain Gang”. When you have time, give a listen to that totally classic bassline now that you know the rule.
           My theory of what causes the bad sound is that finger bassists never learn how to play “behind” the note, which makes sense. It is unnatural, you want to get ready for the next note, so they release just a split second too soon. From playing piano, I hold the notes and in some cases purposely delay any note changes to emphasize the effect. An example, let me think. Ah, I know, listen to “Crazy Little Thing Called Love”. You only think the bass notes are right on time.

ADDENDUM
           How goes my predictions about the old club downtown? We can confirm the changes brought in by the Las Vegas people. The novelty has worn off, all the regulars have moved on, and the weekend crowds are getting sparser. Now we hear that Cathy has taken a day job, something you don’t do if you’ve making the big bucks at a club. I’ve noticed how badly the Karaoke is doing and the DJ thing is a bust, a real money-loser.
           What was it I said? To turn this club around, you need to bring back live country bands on weekends for the next six months. No more shigga-booga, no more rap on the house PA. Even that is a gamble, as the population base is just not enough to handle these transistions. Unless I’m reading the signals wrong, this time is different, the atmosphere is gone. I dropped in last Friday and there was not one familiar face, and that includes new faces from the past year that came from out of town.
           That’s another consideration. The small towns here are ten miles apart. Why risk a ticket driving ten miles for more of the same? The club has had dry spell episodes before, but this time the crowd has been gone for years. If Cathy bails, the next people will have a daunting task. It was not that long ago the place was up for sale for similar circumstances.

Last Laugh

June 25, 2025

Yesteryear
One year ago today: June 25, 2024, this, without snarling.
Five years ago today: June 25, 2020, not the prints themselves . . .
Nine years ago today: June 25, 2016, the Limestone by sidecar.
Random years ago today: June 25, 2012, my Arduino collection.

           The shots have cured 90% of my back pains, but in a very uneven pattern, with days on and off. However, on the good days I naturally tend to move around and with that is a return of core strength. Again, very uneven, like day before y’day I was in full original pain mode. Today, I was lifting boards various bending tasks, and yes, around here that kind of deal can be top story. I fixed some shelving and put a box J-box (or whatever I wind up calling a hinged Z-Box) taking extreme care as I’ll be needing it for templates. There are parts that have to be extra exact, for example the lid cannot have any staples in the path of its own cut.

           The prize photo this morning is this shoe, can you see what’s going on. This is for when you have a sole come loose and you don’t want to take it to a shoemaker, and you decide to use all your own clamps. Grabbing any pieces of scrap wood to spread the clamp pressure more evenly, what do I find by the door? That expensive piece of chain that went missing last day. Finding it where it fell was pure luck.

           I had the portable compressor out as I’ve got a lame tire on the Hyundai, a slow undetectable leak. So while it was in the kitchen alongside the recharging Yeti, because it will never fully recharge in the van, I finally installed the 2-1/2” spacer around the front bedroom door frame. Man, is it ever nice to work with nice things all in convenience boxes. Here is the setup on the plywood kitchen floor. The portable compressor is one of the wisest tools I every bought and it has only been used to inflate anything two or three times. The rest is that pneumatic stapler I drove all the way to Parish if you remember.

           Handy or what, while I had that setup in the kitchen, I put that spacer in place amazingly fast because the stapler makes it a one-man job. Snap-snap and it is done. Before, with finishing nails, you need a helper or you wrestle with clamps. This was too easy, so I dug out that fancy casing and tried putting that up. Same thing, shown below. Done in no time. One hand hold it in place, and a half-hour trim job completed in moments. I would have finished the job except I had more flooring materials stacked against one side. I find myself happy with the progress made on good days and this was one of them.
           That door in particular, because it has been staring at me for years. It’s through that extra thick soundproof wall in the new bedroom and it had to wait until I dragged the boards out to the saw in the neighbor’s barn and back. I’d guess it has been put off for five years anyway. It was also inconvenient to get at but today I effortless climbed and stood on the arm of the sofa and you can see here how the casing went up just like that.
           But not to be fooled. The job used four different saws and the casing and spacer lumber was already stacked in place. Other than transit, all work was done inside shady areas with fans or A/C. Otherwise this would likely have been another super-muggy summer half day. I’m gathering the eavestrough pieces over to the work area and calling it a day. I’m not the least winded, a wonderment. Overall efficiency still sucks, but I can now build a box in twenty minutes with no wasted moves. This is separate from the six boxes I can build at once, a single box saves no time on assembly. Another factor I used to shrug off was setup time. On a single box, so what, but when it comes to getting even a small production run underway, it’s an extra half hour minimum at each end. It’s very much good entertainment for me, I used to account for time and motion and now I am finally doing it myself.

Picture of the day.
Replacing stair treads.
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           Why the shoe this morning? Because there is line dancing tonight and I intend to be there. Them’s my dancing shoes. Leather soles. You’ll get the report tomorrow, supposin’. I got some minor work done in the shed, but fast forward to this evening. I guessed right, purposely showing up a half-hour late to emphasize that. Ha-ha, it was four or five granny types but their leader was late so they were just sitting there.

           Pretending to be a novice, I had them all on floor within seconds, showing me how to “Fireball”. Turns out they are a line-dancing team and the leader eventually did show up, By then it was pretty obvious I had been the catalyst, but it gave me cramps. Just the ordinary easy line-dance steps and my left leg was in pain. So I’m glad he showed up when he did.

           Yep, I learned my first “modern” line-dancing and it is different. The moves go against my training of never taking two steps with the same foot. The say it worked is the one lady had a controller that brought up the line-dancing instructions on one of the overheads. This works well only to the point everybody has to turn around. The whole team was ladies, so when I joined in I had a heck of a time starting on my right foot.
           Yes, the gals were all there to meet men and this was a new club for them. Myself excluded, let’s just say the selection was not that varied. Fun, but my leg started giving me trouble within minutes, remind me to report that to the clinic. I had to quit and sit, about which time the surliest old cuss you’ve seen comes walking in. What a loser, probably 70 acting 55, thinking he was impressing the ladies with how much he knew about his smart phone.
           I was also there to check with Wilford and the promo pics. He’s the best idea man left in town and selling boxes isn’t the easiest start-up.

Last Laugh