Anyone remember late 2010 when I saved up for five months to buy my first Arduino? And only got it when they dropped in price that December 27th when a new version came out? This leads to another question: how effective is it to have a budget and stick to it? I won’t try to convince anyone with words. Instead, look at today’s picture. Brand new unopened Arduinos beginning to stack up in their shipping boxes. Once again, that is b-u-d-g-e-t, in case anyone missed it.After minor deliberation of going out last night, to make up for the days cooped up, I stayed [home] and read history. That’s why I’ve got a few questions that I’ll bet could be answered by the Internet—if one only knew where to look. A lot of the newsreels (history is basically the record of wars) are great but they are classified only by title, which rarely helps search the contents. Very few looking for films about the Soviet-German war would know to search on “Operation Bagration”. (Say bag-RAT-ee-on.)
But first let me warn myself how easily I adapt to living with women. Now that I was ill and wouldn't let anyone come over for a week, my place seems empty when I have tea and cookies in the evening. This is why I have to be so damn careful, I can really be taken by the wrong sort of woman. Thus, I behaved myself and stayed right here. I'm by far not the only man saying it. There are no decent single women in Florida not already in a relationship. Yes, the men complain, but do these men play electric bass? If not, then it serves ‘em right.
Back to warfare. My questions pertain to statements made by various governments. One is that the US could not cut the Ho Chi Minh communist supply trail through Cambodia. They explain it was neutral, but, hey Lyndon, the Viet Minh had already violated that neutrality. So we are expected to believe America can send a half-million men across the Pacific but they can’t plow a thirty-mile trench across some jungle and shoot anything that tries to cross it. I’m not buying.
Next question. Why did it require 74 days for the English to kick the Argentines out of the Falklands? The Limeys sent two tiny support carriers with 34 airplanes and had to enlist the Queen Mary as a troop ship. Presumably the remainder of the Royal Navy was out patrolling the colonies or maybe on convoy duty? I understand the ship carrying the helicopters was sunk, so the soldiers had to walk the 50 miles. That’s what happens when you put all your eggs in one basket. But 74 days against teenage Argie conscripts trained mainly as palace guards? That’s ridiculous.
Here’s a dirty rotten trick. You are standing guard on the frontier. Hundreds of enemy planes fly over and you see thousands of parachutes falling behind your lines. You ring up the battalion commander, but when they arrive, all they find is the parachutes. The enemy must be forming up and a massive search begins. Wrong, you fell for it. The enemy “soldiers” were nothing but blocks of ice that melted before you got there.
Here is this evening’s failed flip-flop, but we’re getting much better at failure. I spent another hour examining this circuit but no progress has been made on manufacture. My grim disappointment can be seen through my arm sling and safety apron. From now on, as a rule, transistors will be located along the centerline of each circuit board. Why are we moving so slow? Well, I usually only do lab work on Fridays, but it turns out there are complicated design theories involved constructing these things, and about which nobody, but nobody, warns the beginner. That’s just one more reason why ALL net postings and books to date are so lame.
Today I learned that in addition to the unemployed, the aged, students, and disabled, there are 3,000,000 Canadians on welfare. All told, 2 out of 3 Canucks are on the dole to some degree, meaning they resist all change. In America these types are known as those who “vote for a living”, but it isn’t all roses in Canada. The majority live below the poverty line, since the top rates are less than $9,000 per year. And they have no food stamps, only food banks. Medical is free, you say? So is it in America if you are on welfare.
Silver is bouncing around again. The silver mints are on another promotion kick over coins, showing charts of how these have increased more in value than raw silver. Makes me laugh. Any numismatic value will be lost in an instant during any real crisis. Who’s going to collect coins when there is no food? I’ll stick with the bullion, since the entire idea of buying precious metals is to get as far away as possible from value that is merely perceived. If you want to “believe” in value, stick with the paper money. An ounce of silver is ten loaves of bread.
Controversy. Mars Curiosity returns to its primary mission which is publicity stunts for NASA. Satisfied there was once surface water on the planet, it has now resorted to posting more pictures of itself than a craigslist coke hooker. Why isn’t it finding an ancient streambed and drilling down, down, down? Ah, that’s for the NASA bureaucrats to know and you to find out. At your own expense.
ADDENDUM
Have you heard the whining of people getting kicked off reservations when DNA testing proves they are not Indians? This testing has become common, particularly with the wealthier tribes. Dozens of families are getting the boot, and suddenly they are acting like Palestinians. They scream that is where their parents lived and their children grew up, so it must belong to them despite the fact it was never theirs to begin with.
Using that brand of logic, I own the State of Texas.
The Indians are partially if not equally responsible, for they once took in anyone who said they were Indian to get more taxpayer welfare dollars onto the reserves. But once casinos took off, they did a ‘bout face and claimed they need to stop “diluting their advantage”. The DNA tests have produced problems of their own. First, huge numbers of Indian men are discovering their children are not their own. Oops. In a complete twist, white people can be tested to see if they are more that 1/32nd aboriginal, then approach the wealthiest reservations for membership. For you see, the DNA test is only for paternity and cannot distinguish between tribes.
The problem is the free handouts, not the tests or the lies. The same thing happened in Canada when they did the Indian Land Claims Settlement. Their native population octupled faster than you could say Louis Riel. Two things I assure you will be consistent with the Canadian experience. One, those kicked off the reservations will prove as totally useless to society as anyone else who has ever been on welfare. Two, the working taxpayer will be picking up the tab.
My solution, nice guy that I am, would be to restrict aboriginal status to those of ¼ blood or more. Let's get reasonable on that, everybody. Anything less is playing the super-idiot. The tribes who eject should have to support those families for one more generation—off the reserve. Coupled with a gradual denial of all (I said “all”) other federal or state benefits to anyone who receives casino or other income from any tax-exempt source that is not equally available to all Americans. The idea is to ensure those getting entitlements still need to retain at least some incentives of their own.
