THIS IS A HEADER - scroll down one page to begin blog--->

This blog is formatted for a full screen desktop monitor.
VIDEO HAS NO SOUND.

===============================================
THIS BLOG IS NOT FORMATTED FOR ANDROID.
If buying is not owning, then piracy is not stealing.

TMOR (to my overseas readers): this blog
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 never intentionally link to sites that require 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 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.

Here is the movie Citizen Vigilante for free.

If blocked, paste & go this link: https://old.bitchute.com/video/iLjCEmvPzHjO

Here is the jeep scene The Gods Must Be Crazy.

Be patient, this is a tricky process.
Getting the video to play through my world-class ad-blockers.
Remember to use the back-arrow to return here.
You will forget and get hijacked by Google.

July 15, 2026

Yesteryear
One year ago today: July 15, 2025, go boom.
Five years ago today: July 15, 2021, Wal*mart cancels 18V.
Nine years ago today: July 15, 2017, costly indeed.
Random years ago today: July 15, 2008, remember Blaster/Sasser?

           I got junk spam, first in years. The Biloxi Hard Rock thinks I consider their single hotel room a bargain at $324 per night. (Mississippi riverboat cruises average $800 per night.) My, you are up early. Good, help me fix the mail box, now that is leaning over. News this morning is that the US teacher’s union spends four times as much on politics than on members. And nine airliners circling Gatwick (London) are flashing “7700” because the main runway is blocked by a ‘technical issue’. 7700 means too low on fuel. Good morning.

           Outside before the sun, another unexpected repair is the mail box. That’s low priority, first I want the door handle on my Hundy. Something already tells me that will be fun. Here’s a picture of the door panel off, turns out the assembly holding it on to the door is also plastic. And somebody has been here before me. Both the interior and exterior brackets (both mounted inside the panels, have been previously broken and slapped back in using larger screws.

           I can usually fix plastic, it’s a trick you learn being around any kind of “robot” toys the build nowadays. It involves an old soldering iron and many salvaged brad nails, plus epoxy. What’s even more important than a driver’s door handle on your vehicle is the stamina I mustered to get this done—but I’m not finished yet. I’m also using the time to think. While potential only at this time, we have problems ahead and I will not be caught with my drawbridge down.

           A week of scrambling tells me I’ve entered a new and strange period of investment. I will not live long enough for conventional formulas. And nobody around seems to fathom the importance of watching investments—they want it to be care-free. If there was such a beast, and it paid, I would have found it by now. To make money, my remote friends, you must learn to watch your money every day. People lock their car, but they won’t check their dollars because it is too much work. And many of them don’t even know how.

           Not much later, I had to quit with the door a mess. I can’t get it the panel back on, there must be a trick to it. The interior door latch is still broken, but I have a handle on there that at least opens the door. Beats rolling down the window and using the exterior latch. I see the whole piece has been mickey-moused and Iit is too hot to continue work today. I removed and tested the horn relays, which work okay but I’m not getting a signal from the horn button and I do not want to take that apart.
           Which is good, because I ran to the limit and have now plunked down for the day. I could not get that door panel back on, so I drilled two new holes and just hung it in place, knowing Agt. M likes that kind of work. A one-mile test drive and everything works, but that door handle is going to break again in normal use.

Picture of the day.
Nevada “non-functional” turf.
Remember to use BACK ARROW to return to blog.

           Walking out to the Hundy, I see I have a tree branch that did not miss the window by much. There was not a long enough temperate spell to fiddle with the horn, so I packed up and headed for the shady workshed. It’s nothing to grab the tools when you have as many little tote boxes like the one shown here. As a reward I made a foot-long sardine salad sandwich, the kind with chopped onions and relish. You get a picture of the van instead. Note I use van to mean any covered wagon that is not a pickup truck.

           I updated the joint account, something I do not keep a close eye on. You don’t do that, but would I not notice since August of 2020, $3,900 in vet bills. More than I’ve spent on my horrible teeth, which need serious attention.

           As the shadows lengthened, I thought, gee that sound poetic. I got the post-hole digger out to the front yard. And dragged a six-food post to nearby the mail box. The crowd roared, is he gonna try to dig that hole and right that post by himself. That guy is only on day 170 or so, he isn’t even supposed to be driving. I hefted the digger and, if I take it unusually easy, find no reason I should not be able to punch a deep enough hole in that soft yard soil. Just not today.
           Another orange grove bites the dust. Almost half the orchards sold were right here in Hardee and Polk counties, with Colorado condo developers buying the best land. Orange groves in Florida now produce just 5% of the fruit as when I arrived here in 1999. The blight is unstoppable. Well, it probably has a fix it the government would stop wasting money on the CDC.

           Tomorrow is the big Trump speech. The panic in his opposition is near total. His success will be measured both by the content and the number of people who will listen in. I need another picture here to balance this post, so here is my pro plastic repair kit. Alas, the door bracket was too far gone, but this is now it works (You can find plenty of videos on-line.) Crazy glue the part if possible. The working tool is an old soldering iron that has the tip modified to a flat, blunt end.

           Use this heated tip to melt pieces of metal such as old pneumatic stables 1/16th inch into the plastic like a row of stitches. Do both sides if needed. Old rivet clippings are super for this. When dry, hard, and solid, you can fill the area with more glue and baking soda, then polish and paint if you must. I usually do not bother, plastic is not my chosen medium.

           Y’know whose luck might be better? Sheba, the 100-pound puppy. She would eat me out of house and home, but I fired off an e-mail to Bryne in east Texas. The area is light forest and great doggie turf. He instantly fired back, wanting more info as in age, temperament, and stuff I would not know such as good with cats. Trust me, if that pooch has been with LizJohn this long she is nothing but a sweetheart. Y’know, LizJohn would insist of drivng there to see for herself. She’s never seen Texas and this might be a chance to finally get her to Florida a while. I’ve advised her for years to sell out and rent a nice cabin near Clearwater.
           Today was also kind of my deadline for Ricko to show some initiative. That’s the Ramone’s guitar guy. At neither rehearsal did he show any real interest in taking this project forward. The world is full of musicians who only want to join an existing band. That is, after all the hard work is done. Then, they can set to training “their band” to play only their old guitar music. We’ve seen it all before.
           Desperation, not communism, seems to be overtaking the Democrats. I engaged one in an on-line duel and I think I gave her the apoplexy. She posted the opinion that taxpayers who did not like paying for welfare and ghetto babies were cowards trying to avoid “personal responsibility”. Like raising her brood was somebody else’s job. Hey, all I did was list what I thought she was and the reasons for it. I guess I was pretty damn right because she threatened to kill me. Gosh, how can I ever sleep soundly again.

ADDENDUM
           Trivia. I was always curious about a rare airplane, the twin Mustang. That’s the two fuselages joined to make the F-82 for the long distance flights planned for the invasion of Japan that never happened. They were used in Korea so I was taken aback to learn they were eventually grounded by lack of spare parts. How could one of the most prolific airplanes ever built lack spares?            Turns out, the airframe was mostly new manufacture. The P-51 parts don’t fit.
I mean, I knew it was a new design, but it looks like a Mustang. A parts count got shrugged off because an airplane has so many. But even the fuselage was 57” longer to carry more fuel. This was the pioneering era of airborne radar interception. It was not long before the second pilot was replaced by a radar operator. It always made me wonder why, years later when the Vietnamese started flying MiGs, it took so long to get these night-flying hunters back into action.
           Did you know they carried three radars. One sweep long range, another for target acquisition, and one rear-facing for warnings. For the record, the Vietnamese had radar, but it was ground-based for years, relying on flares and searchlights. There will always be something sinister about night flying and instrument stalking. The Korean war produced aces who never saw the enemy.

Last Laugh

           x margin-bottom: 0em; margin-right: 1em; margin-top: 1em; margin-left: 1em; ‽

July 14, 2026

Yesteryear
One year ago today: July 14, 2025, ninety-four degrees Fahrenheit.
Five years ago today: July 14, 2021, the “lottery for Humanity” shit.
Nine years ago today: July 14, 2017, a motorcycle incident.
Random years ago today: July 14, 2013, mattress-lined.

           Do you remember Sheba, the now-100-pound puppy. Yep, she snapped at the neighbor’s trespassing dog, and you know how the police always side with the stupid party. The result was a $120 fine and a warning that any repeats mean serious charges. LizJohn has little choice but to put Sheba up for adoption. I just had to say no to a small cat so a critter half my weight is not an option.

           I stayed up late to check out my camera lucida. It is not the easy setup and use pictured in the videos, but these on-line advertisers love to lie. Yes, Brandon, editing out a known problem is lying, no blaming that one on your grandma. The problem is barely mentioned, it is a balance of light between the subject and your drawing paper. I could handily see the image, but not my own drawing pencil. The literature said used a darker color of pencil, but that did not help. I suspect the reason this device is so often shown used outdoors could be that sunlight provides the correct lighting. And you must keep your eye very close to the viewport.

           Most disliked feature? The necessary posture. The image size varies with distance from the page. Seated makes for too small an image, but as soon as you stand up, you will have to hunch over to look down at the page. I searched to find video after video showed this same problem and did not provide answers. The one critical problem they all had in common was difficulty seeing the pencil and they all elided over the issue. How GenX can you get? They showed videos of good optics, but not how they got there. I could not get it working by midnight and quit to go read a chapter on transducer settings.
           What else is there to do on Monday evenings in Florida unless you are 20 years old again? At that age, when you are looking for fun, you are looking for women. Do the same at 30 and you are looking for trouble. Deflocking seems to be winning. Police have yet to make a single arrest for all the destroyed cameras. It seems the public is just not assisting. And Tampa radio has again reminded me that there has never been a better time than now to sell my house.

           Silver listed for $58.74, I got $53 (per ounce) and it is [already] gone to Tennessee. By the outside looks, this is a bad investment. I know that. But let me ladle out a mini-lecture here. If you had $50,000 right now and you were over 65, you are accomplishing little but disqualifying yourself from the social safety net that you have paid taxes into on every paycheck of your life. I think $2,000 is the most you can have in assets. And $50k is not enough to invest long-term at that age. Besides, if anything went wrong with your pensions, fifty large would barely last you a few years. It is worthwhile to take a calculated risk.
           That concept has background with me. My paper route taught me a lot of lessons, but they were not the ones from Disneyworld. I learned that laziness does not exist in isolation. Show me a lazy person and I’ll show you one who is also boring, mostly stupid, self-important, over-opinionated, and greedy. Greedy in the extreme, but putting on a great disguise act, often some of the nicest people you think you could meet. Bull donkey, the lazy would like nothing better for you to fail so they could pick your bones clean. Anybody tells you different is selling something.
           What I’m seeing is larger gold bars selling fast. Large bars means the buyer is planning on holding. In turn, that means they know something we don’t. I know now that to the bank and back with a silver sale is 35 miles, or a gallon of gas. This, my long-term people know, is intentional to make it difficult to take money out of the bank. But, but, what if you need money in an emergency. Aha, you learn to either avoid money emergencies or to have emergencies that don’t involve taking money out of the bank. Try it.
           This left me no time to fix that Hundy door handle. It does look like the rear handle uses that same part. Good, I never open the driver-side rear door from the inside. Be prepared for a door handle post and other such thrills now that Tay-Tay has gone and tied the knot.

Picture of the day.
Kalgoorlie mining bucket.
Remember to use BACK ARROW to return to blog.

           Though I did not require it, I slept away the afternoon, then got to the paperwork. Since that is all I have for you, here’s an example of a PPP, a book yet to be written. This is my term for any variation of “Poor People Problems”, the generic and constant ways that society is geared to degrade, aggravate, and gouge people who have no money. Some might say it is imaginary, but most will agree with my theory that the world is designed to kick you while you are down.

           This looks like an ordinary sheet of stamps. I know, because it fooled me, too. Where’s the PPP? Lesson One, PPP is mostly circumstance. It now costs $0.83 to post a letter. Now that is twenty times as much as my first stamp [when I was 7] and that means it can [today] quickly add up to a real expense if you correspond much, like I do. Therefore, it is unlikely that poor people would keep a lot of these stamps lying around.
           Chances are, they will buy one stamp at a time, as they need it. So there is the initial facet of this PPP, namely you have stop, make a special trip to the post office, then return and start again. Can you see the system at work? Due to the cost, poor people won’t usually mail a letter unless they have little choice and will put it off until the last minute. Whether it is the car, the bus, or a bit of a hike, that single letter has already cost you time. But, back to the stamp.

           More likely, whatever the poor person is mailing will not be something humorous, that is, more like some government correspondence. They want it to appear at least semi-business-like and that is now next-stage PPP. You cannot buy just one of those flag style stamps above. That is correct, you must buy the whole booklet or nothing, the post office will not break them.
           That will be $16.60 please. Out of your food money. Sure, the postie will sell you a single stamp, but is has to be one of the USPS’s “bold and graphic designs for 2026”. I don’t think you’d want the Betty White or the Ali about to throw a punch stamp, but make up your mind, there are people behind you in line. And you have a bus to catch.
           You see, this stamp is going to send a message to the recipient, and here is the skunk stamp. For real. Forget your sense of smell, you’d best hope the IRS auditor has a sense of humor. But, that is a PPP for another day.

ADDENDUM
           I built no Z-boxes today, instead got bombarded by what, if I was healthy, would be normal incoming. I’m committed to logging my condition. Today was normal fatigue, not the recovery kind, that is a plus. There is a mild solution I was given called a “topical bactericide” that finished a week ago. I do not know there is any connection but gone is the caramel aroma. The label says “povidone".
           I was bored by late evening, so I shot a star I never heard of. Eltanin. On this day and hour in 2014, it was at W381°22.4’ x N051°29.5’. If you are new, 381° is the same as 21°, and you can do the Google conversions, this spot is middle of the North Atlantic, An old convoy route. Nearest habitation is, sort of, Skellig Monastery on a remote Irish island. It was part of the scenery in “The Last Jedi”.
           It’s one of the few destinations the tourist guides say stay away. The monastery is 618 stone steps that take fit climbers 30 minutes. The tour is 150 Euros, subject to cancellation by the skippers each morning if the weather is bad. Tell you what, here’s the link.

Last Laugh

July 13, 2026

Yesteryear
One year ago today: July 13, 2025, infrastructure costs $10,000.
Five years ago today: July 13, 2021, a 60% “error”.
Nine years ago today: July 13, 2017, more fake thunder.
Random years ago today: July 13, 2004, 2 flats, 2 retreads.

           With the two new Flock installations on Florida 37, there is now just one path left to get to my ATMs without being tracked. It involves knowing your way around Medulta and you probably don’t because GPS is wrong. However, the rise of the creative sport of deflocking gives hope. The factory, by the way, is located in Smyrna, Georgia, but that is only one of several major manufacturers, including what used to be the reputable firm of Motorola.

           Not that those people are the only bastards who need sharpening. I curse the geek and his family who invented the plastic door handle. This morning, running late for the bank with the Reb on the phone, the interior driver’s door latch busted clean off at the one spot it cannot be repaired. Add that mofo to my list of people to be shot with a ball of their own shit. I mean, who even thinks about making door handles out of plastic?
           Since I slept in (had to, I was up at 4:00AM for no reason), I’ve no news, but I’m going to buy some gourmet rice, yes, there is a difference. You see, I got up, posted this blog, and found a $20 bill where I’d rested my elbow. Unless it somehow got on my arm before I fell asleep last evening (and I was pretty tired), and survived the night as well as making a grilled cheese for breakfast, I found that $20.

           We are going to need it. News arrived the lady who was with our lawyer passed away last afternoon without ever coming out of the coma. It remains a hit-and-run with no arrests. She would not, in any case, been able to pursue the contract, so this means we stand to lose everything. Years of work and my life savings. I will proceed as if all is lost.
           Meanwhile the system has to be maintained. I’ve sent what I can, but I don’t have enough to move the needle. We even talked of me adopting Lilli, but it would not be a life for her here, with the neighbor’s feral cats and I cannot take her with me on travels. I have a ration of 10.5 gallons of gas for the rest of this month. I put 10.3 miles on today just banking and groceries. There are some lean times ahead. The good news is Trump may finally be taking my advice to hit banks who have been lending mortgage money to illegals.
           Talk is Trump is about to unseat Georgia’s senators due to fraud. The presumption it is election fraud. This could get hot. The $2 bag of rice was now $10, so I needed cheering up. This works, a 6-foot metallic chicken for your yard. For $300, you can have a matching set. To the unlucky homeowners whose yard does not already sport a pair of these gems, they are available at Tractor Freight. Don’t delay.

Picture of the day.
The Gaillardia.
Oklahoma City.
Remember to use BACK ARROW to return to blog.

           You bet I’m stressed. The Reb is devastated. Myself, I know how it is to come so close. This is vicarious but still in my own circle, hence able to rationalize this personal disaster. The only hope [I see] is adequate damage control. This bites double because a day before the tragety, the agent had warned the Reb to bubble-wrap herself and take no chances, she was about to become precious cargo. Now, removed as I am, I’m quite able to put a remote price tag on this. It’s $25,000 and that provides no guarantees. By deft management, I was able to protect the Caltier funds, but that swings them right back into focus. How I would so hate to raid my Caltier backup-backup.

           I went digging, literally. Here’s at least something encouraging. Under a pile of textbooks, boxes, vacuum tubes, and sundry laser etchings, you know, the sort of stuff you’d find in any workspace these days, I located this trove. Hey! You are supposed to notice the silver, quit admiring the beautiful box. Anyway, I knew I had not cashed in all the silver. That’s me holding a ten-ounce bar. This silver, was it meant for such an investment? Yes, money would be nice, but success would be nicer. Despite what the pundits say, real opportunity does not come knocking.
           How’s this for an estimate—in my condition I could not pick up this oblong box with one hand, and had to strain with two, ergo there must at least 60 ounces there, probably more. And it seems to me the last time I was at the silver store, they would only issue a check instead of cash, so I still have that stash around here somewhere. Yes, I have trouble lifting ounces these days, but we know the reason why.. No jumping for joy, the price has been plummeting. It was under $59 just now, so selling at a bad time is just another PPP. Poor people problem. Like broken door handles. I was about to put $1,000 to $2,000 into that old van.
           Logic, such a van cannot be replaced for less than $10,000 $12,000 (it turns out) these days, this van is easy to fix, the components are largely mechanical, and I know most everything that is wrong with it. I had just not planned on doing the work myself, nor starting tomorrow, either. This was my fourth symptomless day. I’m not counting on a fifth—but I did buy four wide pickets. The gang really like that gift box y’day, and JZ mentioned on the phone he found it useful and handy. One does not expect that much complementation from that direction.

           So, to relax, should I go buy a TV and watch reruns, or look at something boringly technical to most of the world. Easy, and I saw an article a few weeks ago about Tesla selling off robot arms. But, their factory is robots, so what’s with selling the equipment. Meet the GigaPress, nothing new about the concept. Instead of building a car body out of dozens of ribs and panels, why not stamp the thing out of a solid piece? I foresaw two problems, let’s see how Musk dealt with them.
           Firstly, you need a big enough press and they don’t make them that size. Hold on, turns out an Italian oufit made one for ships or something. And Musk can afford anything. Next, aluminum in a bitch. You can’t pour it into a mold and stamp it before it bonds with the surrounding air. Turns out Musk put the whole assembly inside a box pressurized with nitrogen. I listened wrong, as it turns out he is not pressing the car body, only the rear section. But it must work because he’s cranking out the vehicles. I went on-line and saw his talk about making a press big enough for the whole car.
           This would put most other auto people out of business, because guess what most of their workers (and robots) do. And a one-piece body means you can forget repairs without cutting off the damage and somehow weld the replacement back in. I’d like to see that. As a student of robotics, I know fewer parts mean less that goes wrong. The latest Tesla chassis have only 80 parts. How long before Musk cranks out a luxury sedan for $9,999? That picture isn’t a Tesla, but a Fiat. An electric that can hit 55 mph, it’s yours of $13,000. I’ll stick with my Hundy.

           Last for today, I cancelled the microscope camera and biotome, much as I like the hobby, it can’t compete right now. I made coffee and walking back to the computer stubbed my toe on the box of silver. I say there is more like 100 ounces in there. Good, that’s $5,000 if I can find a place that will buy that much for cash. (The checks can take up to three weeks to clear.) Told ya, buying silver is easy. Selling not so much.

ADDENDUM
           There you have it, folks. Pepsi did a major and expensive study on why consumers have scaled back on snacks. I guess they don’t think it has anything to do with them charging $7 for a bag of Doritos. Some say it is good that 55% of Americans no longer post on social media. I say that’s a laugh, because they are the losers who made the forum such a mess. Few of them used it as it was meant, do keep in contact with a small group of good friends. The half that blabbled their lives away only quit when it was too late.
           Who was first to warn about LinkedIn “that mass grave of ghost jobs”), bleeding people for private information to sell? Me, of course, from the first time I saw their site. Turns out the fastest growing group of users are logging on to “suss out” prospective dating partners.

Last Laugh

July 12, 2026

Yesteryear
One year ago today: July 12, 2025, are GenX really Canadians?
Five years ago today: July 12, 2021, frolicking stupid . . .
Nine years ago today: July 12, 2017, hardly a leisure pursuit.
Random years ago today: July 12, 2011, sky-high.

           This is roughly the anniversary of the day I finally rounded off my twenty-year study of “rhythm bass” in the year 2010. It’s a long story because it was years before I realized I was doing it, but was aware of the component parts. It works great in big bands, but that is where it is least likely to be distinct or appreciated. So, maybe I will hit hat pub this afternoon where I rarely ever go. I’m invited and informed all the prices ($$$$) have been lowered. Do I really want to drive all the way to downtown Bartow?

           Hmmm, day four feeling neutral, not to be confused with feeling great. The best reception was again Tampa, host to four of the most powerful transmitters that cannot decide if they want to be rap stations or not. My most-detested current tune is that bland-looking Eilish wannabe Rodrigo with her depressing lyrics, “I drive alone past your street.” Yes, my generation had depressing music, but we also had real musicians and fast, happy music.

           To off set this, I made French toast and fried sausage, worst-looking batch ever. But any scout can tell you it is the palate that counts at that time of morning. Later, it is noon and nobody has made a sound yet. I will accomplish something today, watch me. Tampa says ICE has purchased six surplus Boeing jets to deport illegals. Less than a million are deported so far, so I say boxcars would be cheaper. They got here on their own, let them leave the same way. No, I’m not a racist because I would never stop anyone from helping them with their own money. The good news is the DOJ is arresting lawyers who filed fake asylum papers. Apparently, there a many.

           I hiked out to the shed and built two fast boxes, one a gift sample to the Karaoke guy. That’s the picture, I wonder if you can spot the diffence experience makes from this same box a year ago. Fast boxes is a misnomer, as it takes 90% as much time to make it out of scrap than new. The bigger Z-box has an advantage for music you’d not think of. If you pack your small cables in a closed box or trunk, sooner or later you lose one.
           But the Z-box has no lid and is best carried face-up, where you see the contents. Nothing, really, until it saves your bacon. These boxes are not fancy and cannot easily be made fancy. Here, I thought you might find it interesting the antics needed to laser non-flat surfaces. There is something to be said about a [laser] unit you can pick up and perch on an already assembled structure. This is as precarious as it looks and the moving print head is heavy enough to throw the center of gravity. Again, note the generally better construction of today’s product. Not one sale, yet.

Picture of the day.
The pier in Galveston.
Remember to use BACK ARROW to return to blog.

           This afternoon was up to speed. I dropped off the Z-box and managed a duet with Cathy, but I’m both rusty and crusty. I dropped lyrics and missed cues, but one thing 50 years on stage teaches you is how to cover yourself. There's more pseudo gossip, but first the only informative picture I have for you is this box with a mandala. The most difficult darn thing to print with any detail. This pattern required four light passes and took just over an hour to complete, that is, 18 minutes per pass. Too fast will scorch the finer edges. It’s a beauty but this could not be made economically with my existing plant and equipment. Later, I changed my mind. You can have it for $28.

           I ran into India as I was leaving. She’s swamped with personal stuff, which we kind of figured out already. In this tiny circle of a county, I think she is now dating the dude who owns the club. No matter, when it comes to business, it will be her and I or nothing. I’ve been long down this path before. She remains the only person I know who has an Etsy account. Y’know, just chatting with her a few moments tells me she isn’t well, medically. But, I’m no doc.
           Otherwise, the place was dead so I wrote three letters. One to Agt. M to see if next trip he can put some work into the Hundy. Remind me to find out why the horn isn’t working. Florida drivers ahead of you like to fall asleep at red lights. I forgot my phone and camera, so you get no pics of anything tonight. But I can confirm the live entertainment has emptied out the old club. And it is good to see Cathy doing well at the new place, remember I like the gal, but we both have strong personalities and methods that can clash. I cannot afford the new place she works. It is nice, and it is expensive.

ADDENDUM
           There was no blog during the 1990s. I spent 103 (non-consecutive) weeks in South America. It taught me that as far as far as I was concerned, all the good women were gone. Your best chances were to marry a teen and hope for the best, but that never happened. What I do have is old pictures taken in that decade. They will sit in a box and get wet, rot, or be thrown out. I’m pondering to just post them and let the blogosphere take its course.
           There would be many repeats, my picture record tracking software does not exist. Since I tend to add a clarifying comment, that would add more info over a given photo, so I’m thinking it may be worth it—if I have time. My priority today is cobbling together as much money as I can for the situation in Tennessee. Oddly, it is my best chance of avoiding real hardships should this Bidenflation continue. Yes, folks it is all this fault. If you’ve taken a basic economics course, it is the printing of free money that causes it, not the reasons behind the printing.
           Biden printed 40% of all the money that ever existed in history.

           Model airplanes. Yep, I’m taking a look for two reasons. I’m looking forward to the day I cannot work in my shed any more, which I estimate is, if I live that long, between 12 and 16 years from now. The projections for my recover this time have accurate in their inaccuracy—I still get random hours, days, and weeks. The other is I don’t want, for lack of foresight, to find myself where I don’t have a good plan ready. I’m too surrounded by imbeciles to not notice their plights. That’s 2040, by which time Taylor will be pushing 55, so I refuse to plan on any wild parties. She’ll plain be too old.

Last Laugh

July 11, 2026

Yesteryear
One year ago today: July 11, 2025, silver passes $38.
Five years ago today: July 11, 2021, my prettiest tree.
Nine years ago today: July 11, 2017, Ray-B’s in the valley.
Random years ago today: July 11, 2010, dust from elsewhere.

           So JZ, forgetting I had an electric bike 16 years ago, goes to the keys and rides his brother’s fancy job. Now he’s sold, telling me all about the wonders of which I know nothing. Being 20 years ahead of the pack isn't easy, let me tell you. He saw a $300 model for sale at BestBuy, I mean BrandsMart. I told him run, don’t walk, for the nearest exit. Anything less than $2,000 is junk. He called with the latest on vitamins, he’s always keen on what’s trending. Sadly, kidney weakness runs in his family. The rage is still vitamin D, plus B complex with C added. He reports the complex is from the inclusion of niacin and thiamin. Okay.

           I’m occupied with administration duties all day. But on my desk, I’ve got that contactor device. It is mainly a fancy relay that uses a 24VDC current to operate a solenoid. I tinkered with it a bit to keep alert, discovering its minimum operating voltage is only 9V. But it is NO or NC (normally open or normally closed), and why does it have no cooling fins? Is it meant only for short intervals. Why is it two-pole, and why so heavy duty if it’s just a switch? I hope your morning kept you as diverted with learning, after all, Saturdays are not to be frittered away.

           Key lime pie for breakfast, as we talk real estate. Like many a condo-dweller, JZ draws too many parallels concerning property ownership. He almost thinks because I got a place cash, this could happen again by normal circumstances. In fact, it was a wild fluke. This was not luck, he knows I saved every penny for six years and looked at over 500 places. Luck would be if this money and moment had happened when I was 25, not 50. Want affordable housing? Kick out 51 million illegals. Otherwise, you will rent for life, which to me is [much] the same as high condo fees.

           A big issue now is property taxes. Some feel they should cease after you own the house or turn 65. Not too bright, that bunch. I agree, there is wastage with any government, but what is the alternative? Watching your house burn down while the fire chief runs your credit card? JZ, like many renters, sees home ownership without the downsides of taxes, maintenance, responsibility, and liability on an entirely different scale. I can tell you to the penny what my cumulative property taxes have been the past five years ($5,202). And I can identify where every penny came from.
           Yet like most, JZ could not tell you what he spent on groceries last month. I spent $368.86, that’s $90 more than average and up $140 from five years ago. He’s unaware of the details, but we do talk about money same as most. And like most, he does not recognize effective money management when he sees it. He thinks it is a skill everybody who spends money has naturally. But if that money supply gets cut off, 2/3 of America cannot last a month without dire consequences.
           On the other hand, my self-acclaimed super-human abilities to manage money may allow me to find yet more in the corners—by now he knows I’m investing in something. I know damn well if I don’t do something pretty quick, in ten years there will be heap big trouble. Same for everybody. I’m already looking at severe conservation measures, which would include the monthly doggie food donation. Gone already are coffee shops, newspapers, and weekend drives.

Picture of the day.
Abandoned brick quarry
(Suggested Canadian staycation.)
Remember to use BACK ARROW to return to blog.

           Today’s adventures center back on music. Just before dark, I grabbed the bass and played a half-hour of my favorite dance tunes, such as “Next Broken Heart”. This perked me up enough to drive out to Kooter’s, possibly to chance across Jack, the guitarist who never called. I walked in on Karaoke, fronted by Cathy’s husband. I stuck around for a couple, since the place vindicated my well-known prediction that a place with weekend country music would rapidly capture the local market. And the joint was packed.

           Who should I see there but Bradford and his pals. Have not see the guy over a year, he’d be in his mid-40s by now. Forty pounds heavier, he now has a 10-month old daughter and a broken arm half-mended. The crowd is much older, so the singers before me set the place to snoring, so my material snapped them back awake I’m invited back, and to an afternoon show tomorrow. But am I ready for two shows in a row? I doubt it.
           Here is a video of two perfect boards. I don’t have anything else for you. From the blog that cares and dares. Now back to the show.

           Yet, I would like to see what’s changed and hear the gossip. That’s the crowd to get it from. This interests me double because to get there tonight, I have to drive right past the old downtown club and it was dead. Two customers at 9:00PM on a Friday. I knew back in ’16 when I first met the owners, they were bad decision makers at the operational level. And I could see the clash on the way when they switched Cathy from barmaid to manager. She’s a nice lady, but has too strong a personality her actual management abilities. I know, because that is the opposite of my talents. That is, she takes on responsibilities that I would purposely sidestep. She messes up and I get heart attacks.
           There is a parallel with the Hippie. He’s a talented guitar player, she’s a talented server—and they would both probably be successful it they learned how to limit themselves to that activity. They don’t have the right personalities for line management (dealing with “workers”). For that matter, neither do I, but I’ve gone beyond that into financial management. They have not. It takes years of study. So, because I’ve lived here so long, I’m curious about the stories which I will hear shortly.

ADDENDUM
           From the blog that dares, how many of you ever build plastic model airplanes? Here is a kit featuring the DC-3 turboprop conversion by Basler. It has been featured several times here because of the old adage that the only replacement for a DC-3 is another DC-3. Here is part of the kit fuselage, if you note BT-67, that is the “Basler Turboprop” designation. Don’t expect one here, as the plastic model carries a price tag of $74. Don’t be fooled by the price from the Ukraine of $50 unless you check the shipping cost.

           Part of the economy that makes possible is the ruggedness of the original airframe. I have flown many times on these airplanes as a child. The civilian airline market was flooded with surplus war “C-47s” for as little as $1200, and there were thousands of these available. The turbo engines use more fuel, but with extended range tanks and a longer fuselage, they remain economical all over the third world.
           Yes, I already checked, there are laser-cut wooden models, which reveal the structure—and now that interests me. So see the actual frame, I looked for a 1/36 scale, anything smaller would not teach me anything but frustration. I found a 1/32, here is a picture because I know how links to pictures can dry up fast. Expect nothing fast, because I’m already distracted for a year now by a rare version called the “Super DC-3”. (There is another reason for this look at models. Read tomorrow's blog.)

           Ideally, I would like to find a set of free patterns I could laser myself, that would be a learning experience. Very few of the Supers were built, but . . . hang on, what’s this? AirTec wants to sell me a real plane for $4,000,000. I said no. Only around 140 of the DC-3s are still flying and I’m guessing many of those are actually the Super. As ever, the Internet is very little help when you need information about anything the rest of the world doesn’t need. There, I said it.
           The first jet I flew in was a 707 (Boeing), which is also the fastest. That was New Year’s Day 1974, a short flight to Seattle that left late. To make time, the pilot cranked up to 609 mph, easily 50 mph faster than ever again. I stopped flying in 2003 due to danger, over-regulation, and because it was just no fun anymore. Massive line-ups, crowded terminals, uncomfortable seats, and unruly staff that always takes the side of the next nearest idiot. Airlines since 1999 evolved to attract professional complainers.

Last Laugh

July 10, 2026

Yesteryear
One year ago today: July 10, 2025, more confident.
Five years ago today: July 10, 2021, the most empty.
Nine years ago today: July 10, 2017, with flabby arms.
Random years ago today: July 10, 2024, a day in Valdosta.

           Want to do something scary for ten minutes this morning? Then watch this video on the push for digital currency. I watched it for info on distributed ledgers, but you’ll find the social implications are scarier. Distributed ledger is where the banks tokenize (a type of tracking code) to every asset. It’s where the bank looks at every transaction in relation to each other instead of what you want. The video narrator is a sprightly old gal who recounts the European whose car would not start because it could not see his eyes.

           A third good day, consecutive, means we enjoy a good breakfast. Here’s banana muffins. It’s from a mix, but I read the ingredients. Add some mashed banana and an egg, add a little coconut, and make them half-size. Still, it is food. Banana food! From the blog that dares. But have all the coffee you want. Listening to Tampa NPR. I have a new theory. That, while it is true the Millie/XYZ bunch will be running the world in ten years, they will just make it ultra-easy for the 1% who didn’t buy unto the public school ganda to take over by 2046.

           A bit more news from Tennessee, the situation is a disaster at the 59th minute of the 11th hour. The accident did not happen in town, that was my assumption, I do not know these people. It was in Los Angeles and a hit & run with no arrests yet. It seems two cars in a high-speed chase, so somebody will talk. The contracts could still be signed but there are two camps. Those to whom the individual recording artist means nothing, and those who stand to lose the huge momentum of this project. This may come across odd, but it seems we are the ones best covered for anything going this wrong. That is, the ones best equipped for survival but I hope it never comes to that.
           I’ve got the doggie vet bill and he is now on heart meds. He did not remember me all that well until the Reb fed him a small bite of chicken. He was instantly at my side, practically on my lap. The circumstances are the lawyer is dead, killed instantly, and his aide is in a coma with brain damage and many broken bones. This happened at 11:30PM, it is not lost to the Reb they must have been talking about her at the time. This is depressing, so unless further news is especially different, the accident de-blogged for now.

           Cancel most of today while I deal with this upset, but one thing I can say is I care not if anyone on the outside panics. The Reb & I will always survive and there is no borrowed money involved in our equations. This kind of talk is out of turn, I know, but I also know how these things go. You fight and win until the last moment, then they spring something on you. I risked nothing I can’t afford to lose, and there is little chance of us ever being homeless or destitute—a real possibility nowadays for those who do not plan ahead. None of what I just wrote are actual concerns, I’m just saying our situation is not immune from pressures.
           I thought I had just saved Caltier, now I will pursue that again. They never did contact me back as promised concerning the liquidity of the funds. But I doubt the head guy, after sounding us out last conversation, would want to deal with us on such an issue. Again, I need time to think. Donald is no help with advice, he’s all tied up with that Iran thing these days.
           On today’s word game, I did lousy. Then again, I mean my standard is not to beat the champions, I do that every game. The challenge is how many I beat, and today just 12. In my defense, I would point out I do not know what a “wrap party” or d “wrap dress” means. So I learned a wrap party is like Taylor gives at the end of a tour. An hands everybody $300k. That, I could use right now. I am finally planning on bouncing that check. The one where the bank will not give me my own balance, under some obscure KYC rule.

Picture of the day.
Tenor sax sheet music.
Remember to use BACK ARROW to return to blog.

           To show I’m not sitting around waiting for phone calls, here is the Tennessee insulation-stripping machine. The instructions are terrible, warning if used too fast the wiring can get a “fever”. I put it through some paces and see that it is a gronk design using parts from a copper pipe cutter. It has to be set up for each gauge of wire, meaning pre-sorting is a big part of the job. That’s where I could put the hillbilly to work, that’s one great match for his aptitude. Thing is, I cannot spring the guy from prison without exposing myself or my own to permanent system harm. What is system harm? Ask the people who are terrified of being flocked.

           Ooh, is this the first time you’ve heard “flock” as a verb? Well, that’s why this blog loves you. He knows the recycle places and would have made more money last year if he had properly cleaned the wires. Here is a second picture of the cutter, it is probably meant for longer wires, but if it is more than fifteen feet, I keep it for here.
           If you ever need a demo of why the Chinese mind can discover, but not invent, read the brochure with this gadget. I take it they mean if the wire is thin enough, you can pull it through without using the handle. That’s what you see in the picture below, short pieces of copper wire. My conclusion is this took cannot be put into regular usage unless motorized. But when motorized, it will wreck itself the moment an operator makes a mistake.

           We have more news from Tennessee. One of the items I found expensive was the insistence from the west coast on “touring experience”, which we did not bring to the table. Yes, there was touring, but they want name and brand recognition so I went the radio exposure route. But this is one crooked business full of the most unethical bastards just this side of the law. This was a big part of why I rejected recording so long ago—I did not have the cash to survive even one rip-off. I was raised in enough poverty, I did not want to repeat it for a career.

           So, the call will be here any moment now, I will reveal what is going on. You may be unaware, but going on tour is largely a matter of “bidding into” the position. These bids are often under the table cash. It used to be the bid was a promise, the bidder hoping to hype the cash by announcing they were on the tour. This is no longer possible, but it is lucrative because so many upcoming artists do not have much cash. I forget who it was that got on a Keith Urban tour for $20,000 and that was only a couple years ago.
           It reminds me of the only Seattle concert I attended. The Stones had a warm up of the J. Geils Band (the “Angel in the Centerfold” group) who successfully built a following using this formula, and disappeared when they did not. Well, around a year ago, there was a near miss with a big star I cannot name.
           Can I come up with enough cash? I will need this weekend to think it through. I never did sell all that silver, y'know.

           News from Miami, are you ready? I’ve told of the condos across from JZ’s that have been 80% empty since they were built. It’s an easy calculation, the condo market is so fine tuned that they overbuilt. The condo fees, taxes, and insurance are not so high, nobody wants them. Well, there was a water leak in a top floor condo that flooded the unit below. The owner claimed the water destroyed all his antiques and paintings and sued for $150,000. So the guy upstairs absconded, sticking the rest of the condos with the lawsuit. They were this week informed of their share of the cost. I would have thought the owner would insure such valuables, but fact is they were probably worth $1500, max.
           Um, you’ve seen me interchange JP with JZ, neither are his real initials. The letters are just at opposite ends of the keyboard. There, how was this for a nothing Friday? And I might still go out tonight.

ADDENDUM
           Digital photos changed this blog. I, for one, was not sad to see Kodak fail. They were a monopoly that was gouging people. I had a $350 camera in the 1980s and the major failings were the delay in develop time, the need to make two trips for the prints, the product was not durable, and there is always a risk with strangers knowing what you take pictures off. I’d have to delve into where I listed these concerns, but it was around 2002 when digital cameras finally began to drop in price.
           This was the time I decided to watch prices, not cameras. I was naturally skeptical as there was no standard format and no standard battery size. Turns out there still isn’t. I used a scanner to make a few digital images but my decision was not to buy a digital camera until they were less than $50. In this era, things get (ha-ha) blurry, because digital cameras were becoming popular gifts and by 2005 I had used several. Even the Hippie had a digital camera before I did. His pictures are probably still stuck on it.

           Cameras were also appearing at the computer shop, people were bringing them in because they did not know how to download the files. So I could not pin down a date when I decided to go digital. I do know I always did reject camera phones and still do. But I found a camera for $20 in September of 2005, my original Argus 1600. It had all the features I needed, including short video capability and a computer cable with a software disk. I believe my first digital photo with this setup was of an ink cartridge.
           The Argus took 26 color photos and was incredibly rugged, even surviving an ocean dunk. It’s easy to underestimate this evolvement because digital cameras had easily taken over within previous ten years. But you will not find any non-commercial blogs with photos in that era that are still around today. I was late but I was first in many ways with the combination. And I’ve never been able to replace that beautiful Argus 1600. Unless I want to spend $150 for a “vintage” unit.

           While on the topic, let’s take a peek at current blog stats. There are over a half-billon in existence (and growing at over 10% annually), but maybe 1% get published daily. Those are the only ones I will consider. I do not care for blogs that are advertising or marketing, nor have I ever met anyone who does that. Most bloggers are between 30 and 45, which makes them the nubies, not me, and also the crowd I am least likely to learn anything from. It’s simple math, the average person in that age group would have less than a third of my experience. (The fact is, most of them never got near a computer until this century when the Internet made pornography free and easy.)

           What’s more, metrics, SEOs, and “engagement”, are trivial to me. I was accurate about photos enhancing blog readership and days with videos get half again as many views. Statistics that are meaningful to me are hard to find, but they do reveal there are some concepts catching up to this blog, features that I’ve included for twenty years. Here are some.

͕√ Fast download times. My photos should be almost instant.
√ Average sentence length is 12 words for easy readying.
√ Punctuation is designed to appear nice, not meet print standards.
√ Blog is not formatted for mobile display.

           For the record, this blog does mention food and travel, but these are totally based on my own blog viewership, not some corporate standard. This blog is 100% human-edited and direct time is less than five hours per week. Production time varies, mind you, but I would take pics and write a lot anyway. Due to crappy content and A.I. backlash elsewhere, it seems personal storytelling is rapidly becoming a valued blog factor. That would be nice. This blog, you see, is based on reality. You can't make this shit up.

Last Laugh

July 9, 2026

Yesteryear
One year ago today: July 9, 2025, worse than Oprah.
Five years ago today: July 9, 2021, or, a coffee addict.
Nine years ago today: July 9, 2017, heavily-advertised.
Random years ago today: July 9, 2015, 2 slices= my limit.

           Nothing like getting GenXed first thing in the morning. I’m notified that my cellular plan no longer covers Alaska and Canada. That means my executor can call me, but not the other way. No big deal, right? Wrong. I use that phone exclusively for calling her and do not even leave it on the charger or turned on except to call. I must now leave it charged and on and it is subject o massive telemarket incoming. I think the person who had the number before me was a total goyslop-eating loser on every known sucker list.

           Another difference here is photos. I do not use a smart phone camera, or any device that could potentially transmit a digital photo over the cellular network. With phones that are smarter than most people, that’s probably futile, but I retain the security feature whereby less than five of the photos in this blog were taken using a phone. It is an ordinary digital camera image (DCIM) loaded via a data cable we chatted about last week in Tennessee. I will comment further on this tomorrow.

           I got a lot of measuring done in the morning quiet and put the laser to work. It is mostly silent but it’s the smoke that takes getting used to. As this photo reveals, I also found my can of green paint. There it is, in the can with the lid marked brown paint. Why didn’t I look there first? And what happened to the lid marked green? Mysteries of the workshop.
           Here’s another, the problem of small pieces that cup after cutting. I know it has to do with the wood moisture content. In this picture which is hard to see, the surface of wood that is just dry to the touch is 11% on the exposed surface. But the same wood measured on a cut end is 15% to 16%. What did I learn today?

           I learned the waterfall effect is beyond the tools and patience that I can muster. It’s interesting in theory, but I quickly reverted to using up the rest of the two pickets for regular styles. The neighbor was in the barn, we chatted over the fence and the guy remains the Democrat’s Democrat. He as raised believing the news he heard on TV and does not grasp how that media has been corrupted. He hates Trump so bad and honestly believes he has heard both sides of the story and does not need to hear more.

           Off the record, he does not get the implications that I’m a trained accountant, so he’ll mention investments. He is a very cautious investor, socking away a bit of every payday into government and municipal bonds. When he got out of the army, he had $30,000 and that must have been close to sixty years ago. I’ve long since extrapolated he has $2 million in the bank and was not surprised when he mentioned it today. He’s convinced Trump is starting wars so he can steal that money. You cannot get more Democrat than that.
           When I mentioned it was Bernie who was conspiring to tax unrealized capital gains, he insisted that must be an accusation from a far-right terrorist group. In the background, he had Tampa radio interviewing “Palestinians”. They were all begging aid and never mentioned HAMAS rocket attacks. My stance is easy to understand. Both sides want the land from the other. (Gaza is a hell-hole with no resources, but it is in the path of the Ben Gurion canal.) What I don’t recognize is any land claims. The whole area was under Turkish rule until 1919 and they did not permit any private land ownership for some 350 years. Anybody tells you it is their ancestral home is lying. It ain't yours unless you own it. (Or conquer it.) However, the Turks knew people lived there because they kept conscripting them.

           For now, I’m making grits and coffee. I looked at a post of expensive toys. I noticed none of the toys were new ideas. Just ordinary toys made out of expensive material. A diamond-encrusted Nintendo is still a plastic toy. That says much about the society we’ve become. Yet, I’m first to admit an electronic game would have been far more interesting than most kids I grew up with. And I mean, far. It’s likely just another spike, but this morning this blog garnered 799 hits before 9:00AM. This won’t mean much to non-bloggers, but 800 hits in a day is an almost impossible goal for non-commercial blogging. Don’t believe me? Try it.

Picture of the day.
Appalachian food truck.
Remember to use BACK ARROW to return to blog.

           Feeling extra peppy regardless, I took it easy. I threw together a five-minute tool tote and refined some work on the smallest “button box”, ruining two in the process. Hey, they are still good boxes and great gifts, with features of true authenticity like somewhat off-square corners, a few chipped panels, and empty pin holes where the brads ran out. That larger laser is becoming a must, any logo adds so much to the appeal. I did not find anything suitable while in Franklin. I’ve also learned a lot about different laser pattern inconsistencies.

           A day off for time to think, time to plan, I ran the laser to find the most time-consuming prints are intricate mandalas. Some require three passes at 20 minutes each. Changing the color of an original has an effect, usually of “softening” the image on the wood. Blue is a good choice and wood is the only material I’ve etched very much.

           This photo is a close-up study of a laser setting called overscan. At this magnification it is easy to see the laser path has gone back and forth across pattern, similar to scanning. What happens is the laser makes a full pass on each line, but is only activated when it reaches the burn position. Overscan lets the laser move past the edge of the letter before stopping and turning back. I was more interested in this trying to burn mandalas than this lettering but this better demonstrates the laser limits. And yes, my laser is very limited.
           What’s this, the residents of Palm Jameirah say the place stinks. Quick, find the place on a map. It’s visible from outer space. Ha, most people can’t. The problem is the breakwater, the ring of stone around the island. The place is built of sand which will wash away in time. But it also blocks the waves that flush the beaches. So you get standing water in nice hot place. Billionaires and Russian oligarchs now awake to the smell of rotting seaweed.

ADDENDUM
           What’s this, Raytheon is raising the price of the Sidewinder, now priced at $450,000 per missile. I read about this guided rocket as a lad when it cost $3,000. Back then, it had to be launched from behind the target to home in on the engine heat. By the late Vietnam period, they were something like $50,000 each but could knock MiGs that cost $220,000. Compared to other ways of shooting down airplanes, the Sidewinder is a bargain.
           Which is why the price went up. With A.I. and the new FPA (focal plane array) the latest Sidewinder cannot be evaded. It hustles along at Mach 2.4 and the electronics are simple, but the same as a table radio. So far, the missile has downed some 240 aircraft. Part of its economy is that it short-range. If you see the enemy, use a Sidewinder and save a far more expensive rocket. Makes sense, since the best way to identify and enemy aircraft is when the pilot can see it. Anyway, at that price, the missile must approach a 100% success rate.

Last Laugh