June 10, 2019

Yesteryear
One year ago today: June 10, 2018, get out of the pit.
Five years ago today: June 10, 2014, a bizarre structure.
Nine years ago today: June 10, 2010, today, you need registration.
Random years ago today: June 10, 2009, $25,000 per minute.

           Today’s photos are random shots from the car window over the past couple of days. I’ve decided to hang out [in Hermitage] another while longer, or maybe it was decided for me. Yes, but this time I have free rein to set up shop if need be. That six-pack caddy is a dear little charmer, it turns out. Think of a name for the product, work with me here. Beer Box? Bud Therapy? Precious Cargo? Leave anything you want in the comments, they won’t get published. Let me hunt up a photo of the box templates, there are nine pieces. The cuts are designed to keep everything to a minimum, reusing one jig for many parts. Except for the three cutouts, The only tools needed are a chop saw, a drill, and a screwdiver.

           I took the morning to read up on high speed rail, noting that the traditional cost of rail lines is $8 to $10 million per mile in mostcountries. Like others, I ask why the high speed rail weights in at as much as $200 million per mile in the US. The answer is environmental laws, labor laws, safety laws, and the sheer cost of dealing with private property. You can’t compare to China, where the state owns the land.

           But one cop-out I don’t care for is the cost of building the rail lines over flat, open, cheap countryside. It is still many times higher in the USA. And most of it is basically a dirt embankment. Take a look at the only high-speed line under construction, the California link north from Bakersfield. Each highway over pass is costing $150 million per mile. Yet some of the companies contracted for the work quote less than 1/12th that amount for similar other work. It spells out the problem is government. Government money, government laws, government interference. And it is so entrenched it cannot be changed without an Australian style kick all the bureaucrats out and start over with nobody allowed to regain his old position.
           Let me check the offerings at the nearest movie theaters with decent parking. That means Providence 14, and their lineup for the sophisticated American viewing audience this month is:

                      The Secret Life of Pets 2
                      Godzilla: King of the Monsters
                      Alladin
                      Rocketman
                      Ma
                      Avengers:Endgame
                      Pokemon Detective Pikachu
                      Booksmart
                      Brightburn

           Yep, all direct to DVD material. I can’t speak for the masses, but I’m not comfy with shelling out $13 apiece for cartoons, remakes, more X-Men crap, fat teen coming-of-age daydreams, another Roger Rabbit stab, an evil Superman hustle, a Disney effort obviously aimed at the Bollywood market, and yet another black person placed in some ordinary situation where his/her “unique cultural differences” results in more of those persistent issues so familiar to Oprah-watchers.

           How about a nice picture of an abandoned barn? This was my preconceived notion of Tennessee. And hey, I wasn't that far wrong.

Picture of the day.
Special effects.
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           Here’s my cheap-ass made in China Garmin. I was planning a scenic road trip to Elmwood, unincorporated. Just a drive to say I’d been to Nowheresville, and I got there without any help from this piece of junk. It is okay for long freeway trips, but except for the ramps, the open road is where you need it the least. Notice how at the resolution of fifty miles, which encompasses most all day trips, the Garmin washes out all the secondary routes.

           The pinkish line on top is Route 70, which I already have driven. The blue line is I-40, the freeway I want to avoid. Between these two is a road named variously Hwy 141, Route 53, Grant Highway, and one more I missed. That’s the route I wished to see, and that damn Garmin kept insisting I take the freeway, even when I blocked that option. And turn off the voice, it tells you to turn when you are already halfway through the intersection,

           Did I tell you the test I gave Garmin. Last week when I pulled into the museum in Bowling Green, I had the voice on and it told me to make a left turn where there was no such road. It told me it was nine miles to my destination, which was maybe 50 yards from where I was parked. I thought, why not, let’s see the countryside and I followed the voice instructions. Sure enough it took me on a big roundabout route nine miles right back to where I started.
           The reason I bring this up is because I know so many people who are afraid China is going to take over. Yes, China is going to take all the gronk jobs, but have they noticed China isn’t stealing jobs from Japan, or Germany? Those countries have highly skilled and educated workers and China is nowhere near that level, and I have serious doubts they could ever achieve it. Sooner or later they will either have to start paying those workers what they are worth or motivate them at gunpoint.

           Another roadblock is China today is another empire, imposing its will on neighboring lands despite the fact since a couple of hundred years BC, the Chinese have never proven capable of creating an empire that actually works. I mean, how much more time do they need before they figure out maybe they should try something different?
           China is full of serious problems, any one of which can topple their bid to become a world power. When you base an economy on copy-catting, not only do you copy the defects, but there is an inevitable lag time before your plant and equipment gets up and running. You will always be a follower unless you allow individuals and businesses to prosper from their own efforts. If China was as forward-looking as they pretend to be, they see that centrally planned economies have never worked out for anybody.
           See this photo? Cakes by Teresa. If cakes were on my diet, I’d have stopped in and bought one. This is what progress looks like when it is getting underway. It’s not the next corporation or government imposed quota. It’s small and easy to overlook. Like a cake or a beer caddy.

Last Laugh