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A reminder to the reader this is not a political blog, but commentary on human behavior. 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.

Timeless scenes: Tower Heist.

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A moment of your time.

Can you spare $1 ?

           The price of quality doggie chow has gone out of my range. I try to donate 50 pounds per month of the best, but this time I had to limit July to 36 pounds. Please join me in providing what may be the best meal many of these doggies will ever have.

You may view more at this GoFundMe link:

Each as if my own.

           My suggested donation is $1. A 1/4 cup of coffee in Florida. If each reader today gave $1, I'd reach my goal. In one day. Send me a dollar. You are in very good company here.

August 4, 2026

Yesteryear
One year ago today: August 4, 2025, 800 at Costco.
Five years ago today: August 4, 2021, shed-fixing experience.
Nine years ago today: August 4, 2017, Trump okays snooping.
Random years ago today: August 4, 2011, 8 hrs of Arduino, coincidence.

           Yep, I am up against truly professional beggars at goFund. I just discovered my first and only donation was from RofR’s brother. I take it my readership is not that charitable the lot, but hey, one of the most redeeming qualities of this blog is that it is free. It was a slow morning, I made key lime pie at 5:30AM. I was busy y’day and it caught up. So, I put on the coffee and set to some Arduino coding. Please read the addendum for what I tested. I am re-learning serial communication.

           Here, finally, is the missing picture of Schoolboy. Poor little guy has an eye infection the owner won’t tend to. I’m strapped and cannot help. The cat likes me, but I’ve already got a doggie that’s more than I can handle.
           Guess who texted? Steve, the guitar player that dropped out of the picture last year. He’s moved again and now lives around six miles away. He is aware of my slow recovery, but also that we are an instant band—except I’m a bit rusty on his material. If he’s got gigs, I’ll be back to speed in 48 hours. He added that his new place has space to practice. We have a rehearsal set for Friday, I see now that I’m stuck learning his song list because he will never learn mine to any degree of proficiency. I will the Prez would move back. Maybe next year when house prices collapse?

           Right now, I need a day’s rest, which is why I devoted time to that tricky mess called Arduino print commands. These were created by the C+ bunch, and folks, it takes a special kind of stupid to use punctuation marks as control characters when those are an integral part of what normal people are usually trying to print. But, in a sick, sad way, it kind of makes sense. Who hasn’t noticed that geeks, nerds, misfits, and goofs don’t really need that much punctuation to express their thoughts, nomsayn?
           We have a rehearsal slated for Friday. Good, I’m a little rusty. I lied down and slept all day, actually a good, refreshing sleep, the kind you want. I composed a demand letter to Caltier, who have not responded. It is in the Reb’s in-basket awaiting approval. Other than that, I hauled out the bass and ran over Steve’s song list. I flunked my word puzzles, meaning I beat fewer than ten champions. Hey, I always beat the champs, the challenge if by how many. Today I lost over the phrase “trail balloon”. Never heard it, never used it. Sounds too middle-management for me.

           Tampa reports the Justice Department is stripping citizenship away from people who obtained it fraudulently or behave in a manner contrary to the intent program. Most usually, it is concealing criminal backgrounds. That’s good news but the numbers are pitifully small. Tractor Supply lost millions backing queers and are in trouble again for banning Trump supporters from their parking lots. Some people never learn.

Picture of the day.
Brit anti-zoo protest.
Remember to use BACK ARROW to return to blog.

           Just before turning in last night, I got an e-mail from Canada. I do get them, but always on my private account, so this one stood out. Three or four years ago, I e-mailed my first guitar player, the guy who talked me into standing on stage and holding down a chord while he played guitar. He was already in high school when I met the guy, so I had no idea if he was still around. Yes, and he remembers me. Yes, I once played with the Karroll Brothers band. I even once published their song list as I remembered it.
           Today made me old. That was almost 60 years ago. The band was called “Western Union” and one gig we made $44 each. Three times more money than I had ever held at once. I replied, asking for his current song list. I’ll publish it if he responds. It should make an interesting comparison. The bassist and drummer are his brothers. What is it like to have brothers like that? And I think I just found out why we have so many raccoons in this neighborhood.

           Felling I had to get something done today, I took down some old boxes that I experimented with scenting the wood inside. No luck but one aroma showed promise. Cloves. But, I do not have a year to wait for results. I know there are oils for scenting aroma balls and products like cedarwood and lemongrass, but I was seeking a shortcut. Patience, m’boy. I cannot kick today’s tired spell and yawning attack, so I ran through Steve’s song list a second time. See, I got it already, and this time I will video the methods.

           The [bass] notes are easy, what I forget is presentation, which is a good chunk of my show. If I don’t play on stage, I slowly forget my showmanship extends to individual tunes. You already know about my quasi-famous 4-octave walkdowns and playing backwards. It’s quiet over here, so I’ll mention what it looks like, but no way I give it all away with a video. The walkdown is an illusion and few people know the bass is only 3-octaves. In two of the keys, A and D, there is a spot on the upper neck where the octave matches a lower open string.
           The walkdown is an illusion, whereby my left hand continues to move down the neck on one string while I’ve switched to an octave on a higher string. I can execute this flawlessly and it is part of why I tell guitarists not to follow me. The other favorite is also an illusion, playing backwards. I fret one note for the world to see, but my ring and pinky are curled and playing another, or in the same vein, I will fret three strings at once so the onlooker cannot see which one I’m plucking and fretting at the same time. Works fantastic on kids in the audience.

           Later, it was Festus time and at least we got a train robbery. And a bad guy that was going to kiss the victim’s wife, gawd no! Great acting by a guy named Holliman who just passed away a couple years ago (age 98). There was a bit of sunlight left so I hauled tools into place and dug part of the post hole to straighten the fence. It moved, to my surprise, so we got 15 minutes of work done today.
           Later, I learned there is no hyperterminal in Win11, another telling sign of the dumbing down of computer-users. Redmond doesn’t drop anything until well after its users have become too imbecilic to use it. I know I have it on XP but my last 486 unit needs shop repairs Rather than waste a good evening, I studied some generic serial commands. It is, I think, a lot like learning how to code a basic word processor. Line feeds and carriage returns, nulls, and markers. To think I almost went into this for a living.

ADDENDUM
           This won’t mean much to the uncurious, but that’s fine. Such people don’t hang around this blog for long. This is a short printout of something rarely seen, a reading of nothing. If you like learning, stick around and I can explain. I’ve lately been looking at serial data on computers, an old topic where I passed the exam long ago but (surprise) lack the hands-on. The closest thing I have is the Arduino and that is what you see here. It has a feature called “serial monitor” that every expert out there idiotically presumes you understand and know how to use.

           It echoes back data from the Arduino but not one scrap of that happens easily. Every data bit and command has to be spelled out because not a single default behavior is in your favor. Example, the “print” command does just about everything except print. The legacy of this nonsense rests squarely with IBM, who I hold 90% responsible for the mess (and MicroSoft 100% to blame for pimping it). The serial monitor displays what arrives at the computer com (communications) port, whether it is garbage or not.

           If it is data, the bits arrive in single file, so the receiver has to know at least the speed, where to start, and the number of bits per segment. The communication along this single wire is “half-duplex”, that is, one way at a time. Most textbooks, and particularly worse for the Arduno, tend to list and define rather than specify what you need to know—which commands work in both directions without instructions on how to tell the difference. Some would argue this point, but I’m from the camp that says computer commands should be explicit, not depend on invisibles.

           COM ports have always been problematical, the computer often chooses the one it likes, some are real, some are virtual. There are only two physical ports, but what you see is connected to port 12. Enter the lasesr etcher, which sometimes likes port 11. You cannot assign the ports or the software becomes non-transportable. There are methods, but in the end the fastest has always been the guessing game. The laser has become a shop essential, mainly for labels, but everytime I switch to the Arduino, I have to find another port.
           I usually connect a small sketch (program) that reads one of the Arduino’s “empty” analog pins. These are special pins that can read the “value” of an incoming signal rather than just digital on or off. They are called analog pins, but the reading is still digital. On the Arduino, the reading can vary from 0 to 1024 (which is 2 to the 10th power). The higher the power, the greater your resolution and your cost.

           If there is nothing connected to the pin I chose, it “reads” the random static electricity in the air. And that is what you are seeing here, slowed down 500% so you can see it. I don’t know what the numbers mean, probably millivolts or something. I’m only interested in if the port is receiving an intelligible signal. One more quirk, I used the Arduino “delay” command to slow down the display. It is the evil command that not one textbook I know has ever mentioned. You’d think it uses the chip clock to count off a time, then resume.
           Nope, it stops the timing pulse entirely. Everything else your chip, or computer, is doing comes to a halt. Most coders never notice because they are only doing one thing at a time, as is the case here. But if you are playing a game and every so often notice the controls get sluggish, that’s likely the cause.
           Speaking of games, I saw a video of virtual slot car racing. Model cars equipped with cameras racing around a model track—by remote control. Each car had an operator sitting in a cubicle that resembled a full-size dashboard and windshield. He was driving through what the toy car actually saw, including trees, other cars, crashes, and sound. It was eerily realistic.

Last Laugh

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August 3, 2026

Yesteryear
One year ago today: August 3, 2025, playing with lasers.
Five years ago today: August 3, 2021, Bidenflation begins.
Nine years ago today: August 3, 2017, “evaluationware”
Random years ago today: August 3, 1980, RofR once said . . .

           A brisk morning, pancakes, coffee, and a discovery on the laser. The unit gets its testing here, and one branch of that is how it works with various paints. The challenge is most paints will ‘melt’ and the brighter colors resist lasering. Both conditions make lettering too fuzzy. But at 6:00AM I found something that may work. Artist’s acrylic paint. It makes a clean edge and lets the laser get down to the wood without scorching. The downside is the stuff is expensive and releases foul burnt plastic aromas that must be toxic if you read the label. Sooner or later, I will find something unique and saleable.

           Shortly later, wasp nest #18 found me. It was behind those bushes along the east fence and got me on the big knuckle, middle-finger, and right through my [synthertic cloth] gloves. Howie was over, the cold snap last winter killed both his beautiful pine trees, planted 30 years ago. I gave him my gasoline weed eater as it will be a long time before I can use that myself.
           This is my “Bent Nail Portrait”, all the effort I woke up thinking I’d have all day. I salvage all good fasteners but am still not broke enough to start straightening them. These show the variety of different junk I found in the recent salvaged lumber. Around a third of the screws had some size of hex head that did not fit anything I own. Metric? These have to be pried out with the nibblers, a tool that puts strain across the chest and I’ve only lately been productive with. This, from the only blog that features pictures of bent screws, except for the more metaphorically-inclined posts from the French Quarter.

           Today was an internal deadline. Caltier has now failed to respond to reasonable business protocols. This now creates a messy situation in both camps, because the Reb is not fluent on how to deal with the intentionally uncooperative. It amounts to me writing business letters that I send her first, which always causes a loss of coordination. I basically had to send an open email to Caltier customer service, for the whole office to see. I’ve asked and gotten no other method to contact them.
           I reminded them of their commitment to redeem the funds or provide a valid reasons why not, which was due on June 30, 2026. I included an appeal to their “sense of fair play” which means they can hardly refuse now without admitting they don’t have one. Do they have anyone over there who will spot the letter is also written to be published if need be? Way back in this blog, there are comments of how disappointed I have always been with the quality of their staffing. But back then there was a monthly payout to gloss things over.
           That is another contentious point—they have never given any progress reports. As far as I know, they still manage 16 “B” apartment or apartment-like complexes in full operation. I am fractional owner and expect a share of the profits to date, even if I close the account. I have not but casually pointed this out to them with mixed reactions. Also, a year ago it was 17 buildings. If one has sold, I expect a fat bonus.
           However it is presented, dealing with Caltier has not been an easy experience and there is little to suggest that will change. My plan is to leave a token amount in the account because of what they once were, but things have dragged on too long. There is also the bigger issue of near-total stagnation in the real estate market. We are entering an era when the norm has become 30-year mortgages at 7%. Time to get out, I think.

Picture of the day.
Rivers by volume.
Remember to use BACK ARROW to return to blog.

           Another small first, significant mostly to me. A cloudy day kept things down in the 80°s, so I went out to the shed to get things ready for building the wood shelter. That’s what I’ve taken to calling the lean-to on the east fence. While there, a slight breeze came up, which negates wasp attacks. So I went after some of the bushes. They were more extensive than I thought. I got the area cleared around the leaning post and hauled over the come-along. And before I knew it, I had been busy outside all afternoon. First in years, a solid bit of exercise and it felt great.

           I’m going to have to re-dig that post hole. Here is a view of the assembly to straighten the pole. The lever is taught, but that post is not moving. I have nothing solid to anchor it except other poles that are sunk an equal depth, and they are too far apart to double up. So we dig. This sounds strenuous, but the struggle is not over any intense effort. I know exactly how much I can lift or pull. The effort is the duration of the task—and today was pretty much a record.

           The photo shows the extent the pole has angled over and just visible at center is the orange handle of the ratchet. Overhead are two of the 16-foot 2x4s that will form the roof of the shelter. I now have lumber stored around the yard and I want my yard back. You can also see the two existing posts from the shooting gallery, not used enough to justify its upkeep. It is partly cleared now, but if you look down the gap between the fence and the pellet shield, you can see some of the intense growth I had to clear. That was done by hand so far.
           That back fence did get ignored for years. The bushes and vines retain moisture that eventually will rot the wood. I’ll examine it once it is exposed. I also puttered with a few boxes inside the shed whenever I felt over-heated, here is a bit of box know-how. If I know a box is going to get banged around, I use thicker pieces of scrap wood. You’ll want to use considerably cheaper brads than staples. Such wood also tends to be more brittle, so the correct length of the brad becomes consequential. Too short won’t hold, too long will bend and poke out the side.

           Shown here is the longest brad in general use. Even then, you’ll need sufficient practice with the nail gun. First I’m gauging the size, then loading the staple gun. I also build a light duty carry case for the airlocker tool. It has not gotten much use since the supply of pallets became chaotic. But, as always, another source will be found—and by then I hope to have most of my lumber under one canopy.

           Let’s skim over the news. Capitol One, Banker to the Democrats, may be in hot water. These are the cucks that shut down Trump’s bank accounts right after the J6 hoax, and involved a coordinated attack by other banks to silence Trump. They failed. Now Trump has yet to have anyone seriously arrested, much less executed, but the Democrat’s chances in the upcoming mid-terms are in danger of going negative. The bank’s excuse? That Trump’s account “triggered” their anti-money laundering alarms. Good luck with that.

ADDENDUM
           It is not true that Wal*Mart is opening in-store dental clinics. With express lanes for people with 12 teeth or less. The UK “high court” has moved to ban the display of the British flag by “unidentified” persons. If caught, they will face imprisonment and “unlimited fines”. I first heard the term “white-font” today, it is the brainchild of a college professor. He embeds homework assignments that produce identifiable feedback if the student uses A.I. In his first trial, he caught 32 of the 35 GenX types in his class.
           Mrs. Taylor Swift has again changed her musical direction, sounding ever more like old Beatles music. SpaceX has finally reached the Moon, a Falcon rocket stage launched back in early 2025 will crash there on Wednesday.

Last Laugh

August 2, 2026

Yesteryear
One year ago today: August 2, 2025, a nothing day.
Five years ago today: August 2, 2021, mental diarrhea.
Nine years ago today: August 2, 2017, no-name chili.
Random years ago today: August 2, 2005, toothpick frame parts list.
(the only such list in the universe.)

           We have met the back yard destroyers, folks. It is a raccoon jamboree. Prancing and dancing like they own the place. I’m surprised they didn’t haul out some rakes and plant a crop or two for the autumn. Brazen creatures, my poor yard doesn’t really stand a chance against mass onslaught. Turns out, birds being messy eaters, drop seeds into the ground. Some germinate and the raccoons dig it up for salad. I lost count.

           A new stock exchange opens in Texas. And Google has warped their blog search engine again. It will not find by excellent video of the goof Torba the Turk. This is the only time this blog was threatened by a complaint. Years ago (2015), I was part of a group pressuring youTube. Not to ban anything, but to add a filter that could block animations (cartoons) and slideshows (narrated stills) from appearing on searches for videos. They didn’t and now youTube is completely polluted by A.I. I finally found it in my files, not in the blog where it has been for years.
           The Turk went ballistic, reporting me for making him look like an ass-clown. On-line, I have that right—but Google sided with him. I forget the original issue, but I should soon be posting the GIF that made him infamous. The fat-boy crashing into the surf. Watch for it, just not today. Bringing you the best in raccoon videos meant editing 486 photos and that takes time.

           I realized the work done last night has to be destroyed, by which I mean taken apart and moved down four inches. No bit deal, just six screws. The problem was the idea is to move the old storage shelter along the north fence to the east fence. But once in place, there is a way the shelter overhang could be seen from the roadway to the library. A pity one has to dodge like this, even with one of the most private back yards possible, but the city is not your friend.
           Cueta (“sway’-tuh”) remains in the news for a most curious reason. When the sub-saharans get returned, Morocco sent their army to round them up. Seems they don’t want them either. This happens too consistently for anyone not to notice the racial lines of what is going on. Most are surprised at the number of dictations coming out of Israel that support the return of these Spanish enclaves to Africa. We all knew there was somebody behind this sudden outbreak.

           Part of what I’m building out there is some storage space for stuff that does not need to be in the house. Thusforth, I’m finding lost items like pictures and I just posted some from November 1996. Take a peek, even though some are repeats, I’ll usually remember something novel about the day. I had a great time all through the 90s, the only place I visited the entire decade was Venezuela. Now, I cannot afford to even visit there.
           If I could I’d like to see my god son, Nestor Daniel Guitierrez. He’d be around 30 by now. It’s an old tale from the trailer court, I was going to see about him getting into the States with my sponsorship, but my first heart attack wiped out every cent I could spare until 2010. [Oops, something got deleted or erased here . . .] Spanish enclaves to Africa. We all knew there was somebody behind this sudden outbreak.

           And somebody has posted one of my favorite old tricks at the office. Make up an official looking fake of everybody’s salary and accidentally leave it on the photocopier.

Picture of the day.
Aircraft gyro compass.
Remember to use BACK ARROW to return to blog.

           While nothing to cheer about, I did get three hours in the sunlight in the afternoon. The electric mower lasts four minutes on a full charge. The most action photo I have for you is paint drying. We have a wasp outbreak, found four more today. And these are just the ones along the walk path that I’m likely to see. The neighbor was over, I gave him samples of the Free Rein coffee. He drinks caffeinated soda, the only person I know who still likes Mountain Dew. He bought a dozen of those solar-powered night lights that you stick in the ground to light your way at night. And promptly ran over them with his lawn tractor.

           I must have got something done today, and I did. I tore down the old work and put up the new. It’s just a cross-brace. The real work is the back fence, which is overgrown with vines and brambles. Parts of it were nine feet high so I had to drag a stepladder in there just to trim is so it could be cut If the world was fair, raccoons would love to eat brush and everybody would be happy. I worked until just past dark when the skeeters came out. It’s sticky, muggy work.

           Here’s a good view of the wasps at work, or maybe it is hornets. I use the long-range spray and sometimes they survive it. I don’t wait around after a spray which is probably wise, a good time to get into the house where I finished my last packet of masala tea. I’m not treating myself to favorites like that tea, when that is what I should be doing for behaving so well after the hospital Instead, I find myself drifting back to basics. Possible I was destined to be a rice and potato man.
           Moment’s later, I get a terrible premonition. It has been two weeks since Alaine has answered an e-mail. She’s usually pretty good about that. Something ain’t right.

ADDENDUM
           Would you like some blog trivia? This blog has history and today is quite different than things began. Today, I’ll give some background on features that became daily standards. This blog did not begin as a blog, but a way to preserve some journal-keeping that goes back around fifty years. When I began posting on-line, blogging was on an upward swing worldwide, but mostly in America. You may not know this, but a third of all Internet traffic is blogs.
           Yep, 600 million of them, but just over 7 million post daily. Tech, by the way, is the most popular category. The average blog is 1,394 words per day, the ideal count is 2,450, this blog sits comfortably between with 1,947 words per day. One category this blog does not fit into is commercial. The blogs that grab the top spots, statistically, are written for money. There is not even a major category for this type of “journal” blog—if you look closely, the few that are listed as similar, such as travel and home news are, in the end, either boring or selling something.

           Today’s trivia is the evolution of some features found here that are, in formal blog terms, “quotidian”. The picture of the day is the most typical, most blogs strive for something unique, but too often wind up copycatting. I tried for years to include a daily “snapper”, to perk up the shorter blogs that I posted after buying this cabin. Quotations, wit, clever quips, all had their turn. But to remain original and avoid repeats always became a task. There is just not enough material out there to keep up the momentum,
           Picture of the day is the most time-consuming and left until last. Normally I stumble across enough material, but some days I have to go looking. I would replace the feature if I could find something as vast and enduring as the pool of Internet photos.

           Next is the title. Why is it spelled out when it appears in the Google layout and URL anyway? It is because the full title is also a search term. I’m old enough to remember when Blogspot was a private company that left the title alone. Google has and will again mess up the date system. Until not that long ago, there was an excellent editing system to look up older dates on your own blog. Google screwed that up, finding an old blog is easy for you, tough for the editor. Even then, you cannot easily target a day in history.
           That is, if I want to find August 2 in, say, 2006, I cannot go directly there. I have to enter the search criteria “title:”August 2”, and it will find all the 2s and 22s of every year in my entire publication. It will not find compound terms, or if you can it is even more complicated.

           Last trivia is the Yesteryear header. This came about partially because of Google mucking around. Google changed the publishing date instead of letting you set it. This blog is one day late because today has not happened yet. It is not automatic and has to be set manually every day, about a six-step process. Thus, around ten years ago, the feature became a way of checking to see if earlier posts were on the correct days in the correct order. Google has caused some very time-consuming problems, you’ve seen a few.
           The usual problems are the blogspot calendar that appears when the month changes. They royally messed that up. It is now very difficult to publish into the future, but you’ve seen me do it when I know I’ll be away—I’ll post markers to show I’m still here. This can fail when I spend three weeks in the ICU and lose 90% of my daily visitors.

Last Laugh

August 1, 2026

Yesteryear
One year ago today: August 1, 2025, too much work.
Five years ago today: August 1, 2021, in his castle.
Nine years ago today: August 1, 2017, here’s their leader.
Random years ago today: August 1, 2003, do you see the million?

           Tampa radio was politically silent for hours this morning. That’s rare. My theory is Trump has done something they don’t like. There are irregularities all through the States in voting procedures. But those irregularities only become super-important when there is a very close race. It is in the Democrats interest to keep the voting 50/50 to take advantage of those quirks. I got ten bucks says that’s what’s going on today. Trump has done something to upset that balance.

           Me, give me coffee and a cool summer morning. Neither lasted, but I got a bit done before 10:00AM. That includes this much better view of the saw ponies, now ready for use. The slightly taller model, I have another set almost twice as wide. Those are meant to be stand for planks instead of using a ladder. Because the paint on my cabin needs addressing. For about five years already. I need new siding.

           I’ve nothing else for you, but here is something I built long ago that proved much handier than metallic “quad boxes”. An ordinary but heavy duty duplex outlet in a sealed wooden box. There are unseen quality to this box, as I build it because I was short the usual metal type. I believe this was 2019 or so, the point is I was very impressed by how strong this was. Even metal would have bent some had I stepped on it as much. Hence, this box was influential on choosing to build more. The seams are waterproofed with Titebond, making this superior for Florida yard work.
           So allow me to dedicate this day to laziness, my style. I got the lumber out of the front yard and drying in the back driveway. Let it bake in the Florida sun, it will dry. Today was not that bad, some cloud cover let me get back outside in the late afternoon. I sawed up some pieces for my cat box, with no assurance the cat will like it. I took the tarp off the electric lawn mower and ran out the charger, it’s time to trim my walk paths—I brushed into some poison vine and had to break out the calamine lotion. I never did figure out why that stuff works.

           Take another peek at those saw ponies. It took me two hours to apply two coats of paint, if you time everything. The actual brushing was about half, but you know, I’ve been toying with the idea of a paint sprayer. I have the compressed air and hoses. I’ve not used a spray gun in fifty years. Because I don’t like the extensive cleanup needed after every job, no matter how small. But spray paint has gotten expensive, so I’m looking. I don’t like the gravity feed type because you always spill paint. We’ll see what Harbor Freight has to offer.
           A documentary on Denny’s, the restaurant, brought back memories. I did not know anything about the history of the place, just that it was always there and had good coffee when I was alone and broke in the 1970s. There was a Denny’s walking distance from the university, where I could not afford the coffee, which I basically lived on every winter. Denny’s would let me read and do the crossword puzzle.

           Years later, I was still a patron because the coffee was consistent. I don’t generally like surprises with my coffee and I stayed a loyal customer well into the mid 80s. Then Denny’s began to change. It became “too franchised” and got expensive. They had a counter with stools that you could walk in and seat yourself. And payphones. That was my only way of getting a job in those times. I never had a car in university and my insomnia was somewhat worse, though it never was the bother for me as other people.
           The final break came in 2002, when I stopped at a Denny’s on Biscayne Boulevard, not knowing there was a campus nearby. The place had a rule that students could not hold study sessions and drink free refills all night. I had been reading books at Denny’s for years and was asked to leave. I did, and it ended my 30 or so years of loyalty. JZ and I have been there a few times for breakfast specials, but the atmosphere and customers have changed. To me, the word “diner” on their signs just means they’ve taken out the stools. It’s just nt Denny’s anymore.

Picture of the day.
Ybor is okay.
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           This afternoon continued an easy day, this is what I once imagined every day would be like after retirement. Easy does it and only when you feel like it. I got a lot of small things done, paying attention to which ones I will not be able to do that much longer. The activity was slow and fun, that’s a good sign. But it is also everything I have to report today. Tampa was non-stop mean-mouthing everything but their own kind, so I turned off the radio. Here’s a nice video of something I’ve head many men talk about, but have never seen until I did it. My egg-beater paint mixer. Hang on, let me go check, I’ve got ten pounds of chicken on the stove.

           Using the grass whip, I took down the jungle in the back yard, Then I measured a bit of space where I had the old shooting gallery. It was always raining when I was in the mood for practice. I decided to leave the posts in place and use the 16-footers to create a lumber shed. My place is a hodge-podge of lumber pieces mostly where I left them. Like most home workshops, pieces get in the way because you don’t need it until the week after you throw it out. I’m now a pro at building wooden work and storage shelves.
           So I strung out the extension lights and worked past dark. I even got a two-beer fire going, mainly because that is all the Yeung-Ling that I had left. I managed to put up the main roofing cross-member, normally a two-man job. The trick is to find that second man who is not in jail, too busy, sober, and not fifty miles away whenever you need some help. I got up the stepladder and used clamps and got the job done. I found wasp nest number ten before it found me.

           Hmmm, I see I didn’t do a grand job of taking it easy all day. So let’s make it a quiet evening. Find a free movie on-line. Youtube is still a good option, but lately it is swamped by ass-clowns who like the movie title. All you get is their lame reviews and commentary. These people deserve all the harm they eventually get. Same with wankers who donate broken gear to the Thrifts.
           Another WWII legend I am beginning to suspect is the battles of Admiral Halsey. If the guy had been any luckier, I’d suspect him of being a Japanese spy. Even his bad luck saved him more than once. For example, if he had not hit a storm, he would have sailed the Enterprise into Pearl Harbor the afternoon before the attack. But I concede most American commanders relied on luck, often in the form of reading the Japanese code. Still, with Halsey, I’m suspicious.

ADDENDUM
           The Battle of Wizna. I’d read of this minor skirmish back in my early teens. It seems now it has been hyped up into a Polish victory. A few hundred soldiers in fortifications held back a larger German force (which soon became a “nazi” force) for three days. That is what fortifications are all about, it is what they do. This is now being hailed as a valiant Polish stand that prevented an “encirclement”. Here’s what really happened.
           Wizna is on land that had been German for 300 years until the end of the First World War. It was a minor town between two major invasion corridors and was thus lightly staffed. The approaching German forces had brought no tanks with them. They had been ordered to avoid costly attacks and, in fact, this is precisely the role the Germans had built a tank force. Tanks were bunker busters, to blast through old-style fortifications into the open territory behind.
           So the Germans kept up some infantry pressure while waiting for tank support, as they had been trained. Their 350 tanks were busy elsewhere, but seriously, these six concrete bunkers did not hold up “42,000 Germans”. They were newly constructed and did not appear on German war maps. Finally, three days late, a few tanks showed up, low on gas. No information is available, but some of these tanks were disabled by minefields, not Polish anti-tank fire.
           I was frustrated trying to find the numbers, but the Germans suffered around 900 casualties, an expected result of the effectiveness of bunkers. But we are expected to believe 700 Poles outnumbered 60:1 held up the world’s most professional tank force? The Germans were commanded by Guderian, the father of the Panzers. Something smells about the version plastering the Internet.
           If the Polish account is true, then 42,000 Germans forgot their training and disobeyed orders from the High Command, and on the same day, too.

Last Laugh

July 31, 2026

Yesteryear
One year ago today: July 31, 2025, not work. Nope.
Five years ago today: July 31, 2021, sedition, I tell you.
Nine years ago today: July 31, 2017, small down justice.br /> Random years ago today: July 31, 2014, notes, scribbles, plot.

           Rain. How about a fine DIY video from Florida’s most semi-famous back yard? From birdie paradise, here is a view of the mystery burrow. I’ve not seen such a thing before, like something came out of the ground, dug a 14-foot long shallow trench, and burrowed again. I was up late (not tired) and could not get my servos to turn. It’s a wiring problem, I think it isn’t grounding right. Motors always have a separate (stronger) power supply, but they must share a common ground with the microprocessor. I will simply try all nine combinations.

           Do I paint that lumber or finally watch that documentary on the downfall of Schlitz beer? I was under drinking age when they flopped, but I heard the stories. They changed one ingredient to make it cheaper by the barrel, and sunk out of site. My interest? That the company was made big by an accountant, and it was a bad accounting decision that caused the downfall. I heard the story that it made Milwaukee famous because of a fire that burned down the city. The brewery sent a free barrel to each man who lost his house.

           Later, yes we have game camera activity. In fact, a lot of it. Even when rendered down to blog size, there are over 1,200 pictures. I’ll begin sifting through, meanwhile the daylight shots are faster to process and here are, if you spot them, a family of three. But pickin’s are slim and it is not these tiny mammals tearing up trenches in my back yard. Wait patiently as I begin my project to bring you the best in Blogland that money cannot buy.

           I got outside three hours this morning, but could not get up to speed. It was muggy and all I could think of was those cans of ice cold ginger ale in the cooler. I repaired a second set of full size saw horses. This entails removing the old legs and replacing them with nice cut new pieces. They are darn handy when needed, so I decided to treat them to a nice coat of paint. I used the best type of paint for this job, it is called “free”. Actually, this color is not that bad. I did the mailbox post with it while the can was open.
           Here’s the saw ponie resting upside down while the dark blue-grey paint dries. If it doesn’t rain. I used latex paint, the theory is that any paint is better than none. This ordinary easy action of painting gave me slight muscle soreness, but this much exercise was a good call for a muggy day like this. I experienced tightness across the chest just under the surface that, I imagine after so much time, I may have [this] for life.

           In navigation these days, the final step in determining position (and the first step of the follow-on plotting) is the use of Sight Reduction tables. These are tables that pre-calculate the Sun’s distance and direction to every other integer point on Earth’s surface between 60° North and South. Did you catch the important word “integer”? Each minute is 60 nautical miles. That means anywhere you could be is a maximum of 30 miles from the nearest such point. I’ve used the tables, and they are tedious, though a blessing compared to doing the arithmetic by hand.

           So early today I thought I’d look on-line for a graphical representation of the tables. Nope. It is the tables or nothing. If you are curious, the way it works is you guess where you are (called dead reckoning) and take a sextant reading. Then you choose the closest integer point to where you think you are and compare the calculations from the Sight Reduction table to your actual sextant readings. You then know how far you are from that point (sextants are very accurate instruments). The average seems to be 10 to 12 miles. Not bad in the middle of the Pacific. Not good if you are 8 miles from land. That’s why boats still have lookouts.

           I had replace the batteries on my car timer and forgot it running on the kitchen counter. It timed how long I took to get ready to step out the door this morning. What I used to do in five minutes today took nearly forty minutes. Hence, I conclude getting old is being equivalent to being a lazy 25-year-old.
           Here’s a useless photo, but I like it because I consider today a success. Lots done and not tired. These look like ordinary wood screws with my gloved hand clutching a few, but wait. I prefer the length 3-1/4” so they don’t poke through. Those are 4-inchers. What gives? Well, every handyman knows sooner or later many a wood screw needs reseating. Like repairing saw ponies. A small supply of these extra-long fasteners are a boon.
           It was no-go trying to get details, but the Trump watchdogs are apparently able to track down voters who registered fraudulently on-line. Everybody knows there was fraud, I want to know how they are tracking this. And when will the technology be turned on everybody? Have you seen the specs for 6G cell phones? They can see through walls (Lidar) and monitor your heartbeat even when turned off. They can create a virtual “3D twin” of the world which can be monitored without your consent.

Picture of the day.
Happy in Texas.
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           Strange it is to me that every guitar player I ever met believes the COVID hoax. It just tips me off they watch too much TV. They seem unaware the whole issue was debunked years ago, it was nothing more than the seasonal influenza, but you cannot argue with people who have been brainwashed. Myself, I read three books on virology 2010 to 2013 and listened carefully to the 2019 “trust the science” broadcasts. Very carefully. Did you? I’ve heard everything both the believers and non-believers have to say. (Or at least have heard nothing new in years.)

           It seems the believers have all been coached to say they know sisters, cousins, and sundry neighbors who “died from it” if you point out the slightest inconsistency on them. Like how the seasonal flu disappeared. One thing I’ve never heard is one of them demonstrate a working knowledge of the opposite position.
           Here’s a view of the latest kudzu attack, the Japanese vine of terror. It loves the Florida winters and I was away for half of this one. This plant cannot be eradicated, the roots go 35 feet deep and keep coming back. I let the plant grow in the back yard for shade but otherwise dislike how it crowds out native species. There should also be a pic of the painted fence post on the mail-box, these items make the grade because I was able to get enough done to call the day a winner—without getting drained. You know how many times I’ve welcomed a day like that only to be disappointed the next.

           Watch Spain. We’ve gone over the situation with Melilla long ago and the world finally noticed it today. Somehow 60,000 Africans suddenly acquired the cash, organization, and floaty-toys to get around the barbed wire by sea. That tells you right away who is behind it, but I say no sympathy. Spain refused the use of air bases, so I say cut them off everything. See how they deal with this.

           The communist government (they never learn) claims 37,500 of the illegals have been returned. That still leaves over 20,000 roaming the streets of a city with barely that many inhabitants. The invaders (the correct term) are 100% military age men. Again.
           Another prediction made here is that this mid-term will be like no other. I don’t know enough political science to be specific, but I knew Trump would ramp up activities the opposition is known to abhor and find difficult to counter. Exposure of their tactics and their squirming under questioning has hurt them dearly. Fauci pleading the Fifth over 100 times. To add to the Democrat woes, it seems ICE, in an extremely popular move, has just arrested a plant manager in the Carolinas for employing illegals. This isn’t a publicity stunt, that bastard could go to jail for 15 years.

           What do I speculate Trump might do? End the IRS, that would make him an American saint. But I unshakably believe Trump is going to spring something at the last moment because he knows the Democrat system is too arthritic to react. This is not cut and dried, because of an unknown entity, that is, people who choose sides instead of parties. People tend to forget more a third of Americans are “independents” but this does not mean they vote for any old non-aligned candidate. Far from it.
           What really happens is where Republicans and Democrats will vote for their candidate, independents will vote for the person they like the best. While this makes them the right kind of American, it also makes them what the media calls “swing” voters. You need them to win. I am a middle road libertarian, a word that has been tarnished by both parties and the media. It really means that I believe the role of government should be very small and even then confined to matters like paving roads and the post office. Who will run the country? Nobody, like it was before and did just fine.

ADDENDUM
           This concludes an intentional month off. Make that physical, because the financial and situational strain has been astronomical. I just spent $18,000 that I don’t have. To spare, I mean. I wore out my backup van, my condition improved maybe 5%, and I discovered you can sue people for inflicting “emotional distress”. And the distress can be intentional or negligent. Wish I had known that back in the day.
           As if things were not bad enough for the Democrats. Remember America PAC (Political Action Committee)? That’s Elon Musk from 2024. TMOR readers, here’s the background. Money wins elections, the only difference is how much America amplifies that. Musk pumped a quarter of a billion into helping Trump get elected. No big deal about that, Musk is just reactivating the PAC. What’s serious is two different elements.

           One. This is not an election year. It is a mid-term. And which blog told you long ago this would be no ordinary “sleepy” election like the Democrats had been planning? That Trump’s long-term plan was not to confront, but to undermine the cartel-like grip the political left had on the American civil service. Trump cut off the grift, sending the left into a tailspin with less than 100 days to the vote.
           Two. Musk, unlike other PACs who hand out cash and favors, does not focus on political issues. He goes after voter turnout. The Republicans, who generally condemn welfare, immigration, surveillance, taxes, and corruption, are also a significant majority. The problem is getting them out to vote. They are not driven by any common fanaticism as is the opposition. And that is why Musk is, to the Democrats, an especially dangerous man. He does not focus on word-salad, he will send out supporters to knock on doors.

           Wait, there’s more. Musk is pouring in hundreds of millions. There are other PACs who have at least $300 million.already. And remember the MAGA fund the Democrats have always mean-mouthed? It backfired and caused voters to contribute $400 million. The Democrats were illegally funding themselves through kickbacks from phony charities they set up for the purpose. But Trump has choked off that supply, called USAID. Money-wise, the Democrats are in serious arrears. They still have not paid back their 2016 "donors".

Last Laugh

July 30, 2026

Yesteryear
One year ago today: July 30, 2025, exciting brad nail specs.
Five years ago today: July 30, 2021, Tuscaloosa.
Nine years ago today: July 30, 2017, 30,000 miles,
Random years ago today: July 30, 2018, nearly a thousand.

           Ah, the Florida summer mornings. You need only get out there by dawn. Today, I may be the one who breaks the morning silence. I need that lumber off my front yard, and those shorter pieces to repair my saw ponies (the untreated lumber does not last outdoors). I recommend hot porridge and coffee, it will help Florida catch up to me. Later, here is the before and after of the repair.

           The good news is this repair took me just over one hour, including hauling the lumber and trips back to the shed. I’m duty-bound to record my recovery and this was a good morning. The first panel shows the rotted wood, the second shows new legs around four inches taller. The reason? Age. As often as not, these saw ponies get used a stools. And my muscles were finding things a bit too low. The middle panel shows the mark of a home repairman. Three different drills so I don’t have to change bits.
           The final panel has the ponies already in use in the front yard. Ah, some sharpie noticed the cross members are also new. Does that not make these 5/7ths new construction? Yes, but the top pieces are considered a routine replacement item. This pair is an old Tennessee prototype, I will treat them better this time. I also found time to do some brush trimming and there it was, wasp nest #9. Got me on the ears. All this activity, took up the good morning climate, I’m back inside near the coffee source. Best leave things be.

           What, you want a close-up on those tools? Okay, yes, even the “used screws” have their own custom made box these days. And a short piece of 4x4 post has been dragged over to where I think the cat likes to bask in the shade. Will Chester get a cat shelter? Will he ignore it? This and more in the upcoming days.

           Food prices up 33% this year. That’s the sort of thing that happens when you give it away free to 51 million people. I’’m a half-redneck. I would never stop you from giving anyone welfare—out of your own pocket. The rain came early today, I scampered in with the tools. Some may say impossible, but I did manage to dig another two-foot post hole. For the experimental cat tower.
           The airwaves are blasted with news that major numbers of “migrants” are attacking and jumping the Spanish border. It’s fake of course. Spain itself has no border with Africa, they mean the enclave at Cueta, which is across the Strait, south of Gibralter. A video shows these are not the nearby Arabian population, but sub-Saharan Africans. They would have crossed the desert to arrive in such numbers so they are not going back. Spain may have to surrender or open fire. I’m not buying the theory they had no idea this was brewing up.
           And Accuweather just lost another user, not that they care. But eventually they will. Nobody tells these on-line losers that most everybody who will ever give you any money already is and no amount of pestering them is going to change that.

Picture of the day.
Female lines?
Remember to use BACK ARROW to return to blog.

           e are soaked but I braved the elements to score two excellent furniture knobs, best I’ve seen lately. It’s rained for 8 hours, meaning h9t weather thunderstorms. So, I’ll plan instead of build. Those four 16-foot 2x4s just saved me about fifty bucks. If they dry out, I intend to paint them not for looks, but so the wood lasts. I also stocked up on essentials. That list is headed by coffee, I sprung extra for my Free Rein. Not free range, dudes, that is chicken. Me want coffee.

           As much as I like mysteries, we are not going outside to check that game camera. Here’s a view of the logistics behind the successful operation of such a device. They are not maintenance-free, this model (which I’m happy with) chews up eight batteries every few months, whether used or not. Go easy on nature photographers, it takes between hundreds and thousands of recordings just to play you the few seconds of footage you see here.

           In fact, stick around to see if I make you some video of my Free Rein coffee, which is worth the extra $3 a pound. I have no plans for this evening, but I’ve been meaning to find out what all those extra settings and junk are for on the laser etcher. What is arc preview and I’ve never used the interval setting. Plus, I want to watch “Beverly Hills Ninja” just to gaze one last time at Nicolette Sheridan, sigh. She’d be in her 60s now. For perspective, her mother was doing Telly Savalas.

           I was working with the Arduino for an hour, I have three brand new servos that will not work. I’ll get it but what gives? These are the pitch, roll, and yaw mechanisms I was experimenting with in June 2015 when buying this property took over my budget and time in the mid-twenty-teens. I was reading code when Ricko called. He landed in the hospital again. Like so many, he has COPD and heart troubles, and he’s burned through yet another girlfriend. I think he’s been hanging around the Legions too much, which is where he’s meeting these desperate women. That’s desperate by my definition which is different than most.
           We had another discussion of the duo, and it seems we have the same conversation repeatedly. This is a duo, it will always be a duo. We do not want a drummer, or backing tracks, or a drum box. We are not looking to expand into a “full” band.

           He seems unduly influenced by those two bands I met back in ’17. That husband wife duo with everything on backing tracks. And the solo guitarist guy who used to play the old club. Yes, it is impressive, the first time you hear it. Time to re-invoke the “anti-Jim” rule from the 1980s.

           Wait, that era is still hand-written, I better explain. Jim was the guitar player you’ve heard me blast for being everything a band does not want. Here’s the short version. This is a cover band, Jim, we do not do originals. If you want that, go start your own band and see how far you get. And I don’t believe that story of the time you played and original and the whole room loved it.
           The anti-Jim rule says, “Yes, Jim, we will consider making the changes you want on one condition. That you first demonstrate you can play the tune professionally without the backing track.” They exist, but I’ve never met a guitarist who likes backing tracks that could pass that test. It’s a no-brainer. If they can play it right, they would not like tracks. Duh.

           I have to explain over and over that I’ve had too many false starts to take chances on musical externalities. I’m not against a drummer, but only after we have a successful duo and he can prove that it worthwhile both musically and financially. Same with a singer. The oddity here is that he says he as started most bands that he’s played in. Yet he does not know the elements that hold a band together. You need people who put in the time to mesh. He still talks about learning “his part” rather than melding the sound.
           He has not yet put together the small PA system like he said he would. There are excellent 6-channel units on-line everywhere. He cannot lift things but I told him I would help him set it up. He still does not grasp that he needs a system that allows him to hear what the bass is doing as he learns the tunes—or he will get lost on stage. I know what he’s thinking, but every guitar player who tries to follow me on stage flops, every one who learns his strum succeeds. That harks back to the Prez, who did an excellent job because he caught on right away.

ADDENDUM
           Since Canadian media is government controlled (CBC), they have systematically wiped out every trucker who protested in Ottawa, a legal protest, for the record. The government declared the protest illegal and systematically tracked down every trucker and put them out of business. The state police (RCMP) even arrested supporters, including guitar players in trucker bars.

           Ottawa has since imported thousands of Hindu replacements, only to see accidents soar. So many of the drivers cannot read the road signs that overpass clippings became normal. The government has resorted to putting up these “pool noodle” curtains. Canada, where everything that is not forbidden is compulsory.

Last Laugh

July 29, 2026

Yesteryear
One year ago today: July 29, 2025, welcome, Sydney.
Five years ago today: July 29, 2021, Dothan, Alabama.
Nine years ago today: July 29, 2017, a very good likeness.
Random years ago today: July 29, 2006, the cautious rider.

           This is neat, I just discovered by accident how to make short gifs appear more natural. You see them here all the time and often they have a chunky feel. I’ve long known actors on digital TV are trained to move artificially slow. What do you know, it works the same with gifs. Morning coffee along with the report Fauci, during his first real questioning, evoked the Fifth 111 times. He has been pardoned, but evoking the Fifth technically nullifies that pardon. Something stinks, Anthony.

           Another morning of paperwork, made regrettable is that is the only possible time for me to work in the summer heat. There’s evenings but it isn’t the same. Three hours to reconcile the bank statements and log the developments (or lack thereof) with Caltier. I wound up leaving a stern but polite message for them to contact us. There is an update, probably repetitious, in the addendum.

           Last day, I grabbed some sticks from behind the back fence which I kept knowing one day I’d have a dowel jig. My eighth wasp’s nest of the year did not like that. I am now convinced the anesthetic of last January has somehow caused an allergy—maybe not directly, but before that day insect bites that did not bother me now cause serious swelling. I was out this morning to feed the cat and this photo shows I slept through another fairly violent windstorm. The neighbor confirms it was a good one, a half-hour howler straight out of the west.
           One option is to close in the scooter shed which catches the worst of it. Tell you what, I saw some lumber curbsided y’day. I’ll go over there now, after I set up the game camera. I have a dream that one day, the GenXYZ class, with the resources at their disposal, will one day devise a tripod that folds and unfolds easily and is easy to set up on the first try. Later, yes, I got the lumber before anyone else, including four 16-foot 2x4s. The big storage rack was a myth, unil I got the lumber for free. Also, two 8-foot 4x4 posts. It needs cleaning, which I specialize in since my early pallet days.br />

           Here’s the lumber, with the black cat supervising, see him at the top, almost dead center, almost invisible. This mess is man-made, no wind today when it might be helpful. All these felines have names from the neighbor. Names I never remember. So let’s see if I can remember to call this cat Chester. It’s a furnace out there even this view shows the welcome shade. Maybe later, I need to build a box, something different. I have in mind a “project box”, just enough for a mini-breadboard with some parts. A shallow box, so I can reach small components, more of a tray.
           Rumors of an $8 billion dip on the stock market are circulating in the mainstream media, so nobody believes them. That much would sting a lot of people who need it, don’t look at me, I have boards to clean. Something seems different about this one. New Jersey governor blamed bad voter registrations on a “software glitch. Not true, says IDEMIA, the vendor from France, who proceeded to publish how the New Jersey DMV manipulated the settings to allow the false registrations. In the process they unexpectedly revealed that 100% of the 6,600 bogus registrations were registered Democrats. Trump was quick to point out the governor only went public because she got caught.
           Even CNN, that die-hard bastion of fake news, is forced to admit even its own carefully-worded and biased polls show a huge drop in Democrat ratings. I never trusted that point systm, but I know a drop from +1 “favorability” to -24 is not good news.

           I fired off another letter to JZ with an update of my August plans. If he wants to do some driving around, it will have to match my time and energy level. Last visit I went over right after a clinic appointment and fell asleep for 20 hours. That's not how I want to be remembered.

Picture of the day.
Akhal Teke
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           Here it is, 2026, and another gizmo that America’s greatest generation have never invented is some place on your dash to hand a trash bag. The normal excuse is that it is dangerous, but that is a copout. A proper design would address that. Here you can just see the two pilot holds I drilled into the plastic.

           The logical spot is on the passenger side just past the console. Sure, it might get in the way of a knee or two, but I’m used to driving solo. You can’t use the peel & stick hooks because the heat of the day will work them glue loose. The trick is to drill a couple of pilot holes and use couple of drywall anchors. I got that done although it took nearly an hour. Without Chester cheerleading, I may not have managed. I have difficult sitting up at certain angles, and the Hundy design team figured out what it was years before it bothered me.

           I put a couple “project boxes, scraps put together for holding the half dozen small projects I tend to have going at once. I even found time to clean the lumber—mostly. Some of the screw heads are hex and I’m 70 feet from the shed. I do have four long pieces but only one good post. A lot of the screws are also bent and just cutting them away is easier. I think it is time for an evening of nothing, I would be sapped on a day like today without any help from Nature. Doing nothing around here could include running the laser, writing letters, or study. Anything but wasting time.

ADDENDUM
           Nothing verfied yet, but it seems the $30 million net worth of the Somali Ilhan disappears almost instantly after the “learing” centers were closed. That was rapidly followed by the bankruptcy of here wine company and some sort of capital investment firm. She’s blaming the drop of her net worth by 99.68% on the suddenly popular accounting error. Hmmm, where did the money come from and where did it go? She doesn’t have the brains for the stock market.

Last Laugh