January 28, 2015

MORNING
           Inside until noon, the cool makes me more productive. But after the first hundred years it is tough for a man to get more productive around his own house. There is always something new to discover and here is something I’ve stumbled upon. This picture is from WWII newsreels and shows Soviet troops advancing into the dust of an explosion on German positions. The unshown part of this reel shows the shell came from inside the covered position where the cameraman was crouching.

           It was also clear the shell was fired directly at the enemy, not thrown or lobbed. These pictures are so over-published it is easy for historians to miss significant details. I have one. Look at the man in the center. He is carrying what looks like a mortar tube with baseplate. Aha, somehow the Ruskies found a way to use the mortar in a direct fire role.

           I’m suggesting they were able to load the mortar and aim it like a cannon, then somehow fire the mortar shell on a flat trajectory at the target. It would make sense for a number of reasons, such as why he is the last to get up and run. He’s carrying the heaviest load.
           So there’s your novel view on an old photo and that is your trivia this morning. I’m going for a haircut at the other place. Don’t be looking for excitement in all the wrong places and drop back later to see if anything happened this cold and frigid day.

NOON
           Here’s a transcript of a conversation with Elliott concerning the backlash against Uber by the entrenched taxi mafia. [As far as I'm concerned], everybody against the idea [of people being allowed to charge others for rides in a private vehicle] is on the take and that includes City Hall. And Ft. Lauderdale is stacked to the gills with jerkasses who will try to turn their weak stance into a public safety issue. See photo.

           “Monopoly gone wrong" is, to me, currently typified by the Uber taxi wars. The entrenched taxi system is fighting like banshees to stop it. The fact is, the taxi system is corrupt, dysfunctional and cannot sustain itself without political patronage. Same goes for tow trucks and rental cars. All bum-buddies. City hall restricts the number of licenses, then increases their annual fees for no public benefit, and the drivers pass this cost on to the customers, who feel powerless to object. This cozy merry-go-round has been soaking you for fifty years.
           “As far as the argument that the Uber drivers don’t carry liability insurance, it would be simple to pass a law that requires the passenger, not the driver, to be responsible for his own damn coverage. That’s what Obamacare is all about—-personal responsibility. Something, which in that context, America so drastically needs.
           Yes, I really do talk like that.

           [Author's note 2024: that last comment is easy to take wrong. I'm actually against allowing any rules or laws that, for their enforcement, involved spying on the private lives of people. At the time, Obamacare was about telling people to carry their own medical, the truth did not come out until later, under Trump. It is impossible to insure yourself against stupid and careless people, we expected Trump would make it easier to sue individuals who did not carry insurance. It's complcated, and anyway, he was forced to spend his Presidency fighting off bogus lawsuits.]
EVENING
           That was Agt. M at the door, came over for supplies, which I, as club secretary-treasurer, keep under lock and key. Which is why we never run out. He wanted to adjourn up to the coffee shop, but I had just taken my shot (the Star Trek injection) and that immobilizes me by choice. We went over the details of the wooden toy gun, including minute inspection of the working parts. I’m authorized to buy some wood rasps and build a second model.

           Additionally covered was the need for fine internal work on the trigger mechanism, that each unit would have to be hand-finished. Possibly with a sander I could make the pieces interchangeable. We discussed the merits of additive and subtractive work. This toy gun was remarkable that way. Although the pieces were cut from solid sheets (subtractive), the gun itself was built up in discreet layers (additive). Again, remarkable.

           We have also received communication from a lady with a 3D printer. She does not like it, as the nozzle is too large to create what she needs. I dispatched Agt. M to invite her to meet with us, not as customers, but as a potential associate or club member. She reputedly has a 3D design studio, which is a discipline we have sorely needed to learn for years now.
           The gem of the day was this beautiful Honda 650 Shadow at the cycle shop. It’s a dream come true, brand new. And for me, only $2,900. It’s an $8,500 motorcycle and brand new. Except for the 775 miles on the odometer. I had to say no instantly, it is way more motorcycle than I need for around town. Even the 400cc unit is pushing it. This was one sweet deal, though.
           From what I gather, the some lady’s boyfriend bought it hoping she would catch the fever. And she left in parked inside for 20 years. Take my word for it, this thing is gleaming brand new. I must, sadly, let it go. It’s footprint is longer than my sidecar rig because of the extended forks. Nice machine, but it waited too long.

ADDENDUM
           According to the Commonwealth Fund, for the first time fewer Americans are struggling to pay medical bills than the previous year. (Careful, these studies presume nobody had trouble paying medical bills until 2001.) This is no more than the effect of socialized (enforced) medical. In a nutshell, Obamacare came eleven years too late for me. I view Obamacare as a band-aid fix to an corrupt system.
           Of course, I disagree with anything socialized. Everyone should be free to opt out of pretty much anything, which is why I call myself a Libertarian. As it was, people who never paid could get free medical by checking into emergency and the taxpayer got stuck with the tab. That is, people were opting in but the poor taxpayer could not opt out. The alternative was letting people die but I think there is a lot of that already going on. It almost happened to me once when they could not find my insurance papers.

           I see the problem as more of medical costs being out of control due to the way insurance works. Hospitals overbill insurance companies to make up for free services to the uninsured. Then poor old Joe Average gets charged insurance company rates for ordinary medical. We’ve all heard of the $8,000 broken finger splint. Such things could not happen if hospitals were subject to supply and demand, as they should be. Insurance upsets that formula and prices are at least ten times higher than they should be because of it.
           Author’s note: actually, I’m a slightly right of middle-of-the-road Libertarian. A lot of people do not understand what a Libertarian is, confusing it with the word Liberal, which I am not. A Libertarian is a person who believes no group of people should have the right to compel an individual to participate in anything. That also means they can’t elect somebody to do the compelling for them. Libertarianism is the opposite of big government.
           I’m also aware that no pure Libertarian system has ever existed in the history of mankind but also that the only criticism of Libertarianism is conjured out of thin air by insane people who take it to extremes—which no scrupulous Libertarian ever advocates. A true Libertarian says everything is optional BUT that once you opt in, you have to obey the rules and cannot opt out until no duty remains. (That is, unless the only person who might suffer is himself.) The classic example [of extreme] is the lifeguard who won’t save a drowning swimmer because he chooses not to participate. This is ridiculous, for he gave up any right to refuse by becoming a lifeguard.

           A true Libertarian, such as myself, does not use the philosophy as an excuse to avoid an obligation. This explains why welfare is a touchy issue with me. Helping such people should be turned over to charity and not the taxpayer. Those who want to help, go ahead, but no compelling others. Then again, since abolishing welfare is political suicide, I say all government dependents, not just welfare cases, should be drug tested. That’s correct, all. The DA, the politicians, the judges, the police, the whole lot.
           Because I’m a Libertarian.

           Author’s note: I’ll make you a deal. I’ll get blood-tested on one condition. If you don’t find anything, you pay me $10,000,000. That’s right, ten million. Those who disagree are the enemy, used to making false or random accusations and placing the burden of proof upon the innocent. When an accuser has nothing to lose, you get things like police brutality. And the Spanish Inquisition, to name another.
           Any type of compulsory "test" is a veiled accusation and it unbalances the system when the accusers have nothing to lose by compelling others to an ordeal. The other guy could lose his job, yet only stands to gain, what, not getting fired? To a libertarian, placing others in unconscionable circumstances is fundamentally wrong. I say, you want me to do it your way, you pay me or foster hatred. Them’s the two choices—and harsh or not, they are better choices than we are being offered in return.


Last Laugh
How very true!