One year ago today: September 4, 2019, we went to a movie.
Five years ago today: September 4, 2015, Kraft ought to know.
Nine years ago today: September 4, 2011, the Captain resigned . . .
Random years ago today: September 4, 2006, yeah, I’m jealous.
We knew the libtards had to pull something out of their arses darn soon, since their upcoming defeat is going to reach historic proportions. They are going after the military vote by claiming Trump called dead solders some of whom gave their lives were losers and suckers. To give you a perspective on the collective IQ of the drive-by media, they added that these dead soldiers included “some who had even given their lives”. Let me see, yep, sixty days before the most important election of our era, right on cue and right on time. The sources are the usual “anonymous”. It’s amazing how backward these liberals are, trying a stunt that might have worked in the 1950s. Their problem today is nobody in the military is going to believe them
Today’s pictures are from the Memphis trip. One is some figurines around a foot tall, priced around $65 in a tourist shop. And a fridge magnet the Reb found hilarious.
COBOL, one of my favorite computer languages back in the day, is again in the news. Once again it is the software that drives many older government computers and, it is notable, the only time COBOL doesn’t work is when the hardware is overwhelmed. If you spot the supreme significance in that last statement, thank yourself you are not a millennial. But this time there is a difference. Employers seem to have clued in that $32,000 per year is a piddling offer to real programmers. I’ve seen ads offering a decent $60 per hour. Problem, although I can program in COBOL, I’ve zero mainframe experience, though nothing would stop me from teaming up with Mitch or somebody who knows all that. It’s likely no more than learning a bunch of protocol, so yes, I am thinking.
According to TechRepublic, there are 220+ billion lines of COBOL in operation out there and over 40% of banks use the code. The bank stat should tell you something. My position is the last course I took in COBOL was in the early 90s because I needed the credits for my degree. When I say I liked the language, I mean I recall that I liked it. This was a college level course, a real challenge, but I passed with the highest mark that ever came out of that campus. By now there will be an IDE for creating the source code. I found the language pleasingly structured—but the school I attended ran all student programs off remote terminals, so I have zero experience on the mainframe.
Based on my personal rate of relearning old material, I could probably ace the language in around twenty hours. One rarely mentioned plus of COBOL is that it does not become unstable when processing huge amounts of data, a defect found on most relational databases. This causes me to wonder why the government computers are having such trouble processing a measly 2.2 million unemployment applications. TutorialsPoint has a COBOL module. I’ll take a look tomorrow. Just moments ago I downloaded a sample COBOL code listing and understood every segment of it. This is important because although I took the highest level course at the college, I don’t know how that relates to the real world. I’ve been fooled before.
Next is the review of the Memphis Odyssey 2020. It was our most memorable outing ever, but there are always lessons to be learned. Top of the list is that if you want the Reb to relax, get her away from that office. I was the same way, give me time to earn more money and I will, the concept of delayed reward. But if you do that too long, you’ll never have time to enjoy the later years. Once we get away, we are unbeatable for having fun. We walked a long way down Union Avenue in Memphis on Sunday, the only couple holding hands. As they say, “Sweet Dreams are Made of Cheese”.
Thusforth, the next logical trip is early November, or early December. I have to be in Miami for the Thanksgiving week. This time around, we leave early and return late. I’ve adapted to the dogs making things take much longer, I shudder to think how I’d manage a family at my age. I’ve the papers for a possible replacement of the car, which is now showing secondary problems from the collision, including a crack below the rear window, difficultly closing one of the doors, and another lock peg has fallen inside it’s housing. Also, it gets low on water without obvious leaking, probably the water pump starting to give as a result of that replacement fan belt.
She’s never seen New Orleans, or Savannah, or for that matter, this area. You know me, the first question crossing my mind is what happened during all that time I was gone? The answer is probably the circumstances which, like how she got to be working so much, something I don’t want to know. While no work-a-holic, she undoubtedly completely adapted to self-support. We have never argued about money. That’s the one argument that will break up any relationship. This was one small trip, the first since too long ago—but I can already say traveling with the Reb would be a fitting closure to a life where, left alone I have never wasted a moment of time. It’s a pity it takes so long and costs so much to be left alone.
Lava-cooked marshmallow.
Remember to use BACK ARROW to return to blog.
Another summer oven day, I had two of three A/C units and the ceiling fans on full and survived in comfort. Indoors, that is, I hope to get an hour into the yard in the late afternoon. Instead, I kept inside and covered some of the logistics. One idea that came up is the new kitchen counter. The old one is in really good shape except for the drawers. They will not open, being wedged shut by the slowly sagging floor. Remember how, when I leveled that far corner in the old living room (now the guest bedroom), the doors all over the building began working right again, although not as square as I would have liked.
Another topic that came up twice this week concerns privacy. I watched a video interview which stated that Pennsylvania law requiring inoculation. The prevailing attitude is, so what, it’s just a needle in the arm. Wrong. I predict you will have to show ID, consent to being aarped, and possibly be photographed and issued an ID card with a database registration number. And shortly thereafter, you will no be able to ride the bus or rent an apartment without that card. The Deep State has been pushing for national ID cards for decades and the virus will be manipulated into the excuse to enforce it. How long before you can be denied medicine or a job without that card?
Odd, but other than that single video which has disappeared, I cannot find any reference on-line to this law. Has it been buried already, pending the out come of the election? Is it already being enforced behind closed doors? The game is afoot.
Trivia: in Mexico, mooning somebody is known as "showing him a map of the world".
ADDENDUM
Have you been geofenced yet? Keep walking around with your smart phone and you will be. Software is becoming available that enable police to garner location data without bothering to ask Google for user records. The practice is questionable and the evidence may be rejected by the courts, but that is not the issue. What’s important is that police will use the information to go on “fishing expeditions”. The Judges who sign the Google warrants are also breaking the law, since the warrant names nobody and for that matter the Judge is usually woefully ignorant of even how many people he is siccing the police after.
And you can imagine the police love such Judges to death. While Hong Kong rioters are smart enough to leave their cell phones back at the dormitories, the left-wing hoodlums of contemporary America have no such street smarts. You can bet Google has already handed over the records for people who unsuspectingly drove within a mile of any rioting. True, some of the rioters may be snagged, but what the police are really after is the mass of data on everyday users. This goes into their databanks permanently and they are giggling with glee over what can be done behind people’s backs.
Last, you want to support the Payment Choice Act. This prevents stores from hanging a “cash not accepted” sign in the window in order to track your purchases for life. I would like to see the Internet forced to accept some form of anonymous payment as well. The secondary benefit of this would be forcing the sellers to add real warantees to their products instead of attaching them to the purchaser.
