April 14, 2023

Yesteryear
One year ago today: April 14, 2022, nobody is born . . .
Five years ago today: April 14, 2018, the regulation model.
Nine years ago today: April 14, 2014, Google Glass, $1,500.
Random years ago today: April 14, 2013, a very unpleasant picture.

           The little doggie settled down, but it is off to the vet. Like I’m off to Winter Haven again, this time to make money transfers. I’ll tell you how to do it securely. You walk into Bank A and take the money out cash. Then you drive to Bank B and deposit it. The government would very much like to make this sort of thing illegal, just like it is now illegal to deposit more than $500 cash into any account unless the account is in your own name. And yes, they do check, every time. Fortified by a breakfast of spuds fried with onions and some diced up SPAM, we are off when I finish this second cup of coffee.

           Wise move, working past dark last night to finish the tarpaper on the canopy. Total rainstorm from 2:00AM to 4:30AM. No shingles, but I’ve dealt with roofs a lot since arriving in this state, and there will be no leaks. Remind me to check the cull cart tomorrow, I’m wondering if I should add yet another layer. In the background, our tea light is still hanging on. The human eye is a great light detector and a tiny orange glow can still be seen after 72 hours.
Note, the candle cheats a bit. That is not a real off-on switch, but a plastic slide that rolls a wire over the battery terminal. This wears down over time and touching the switch can make the candle bright again. So this is not a fair test, but we continue.

           Choosing not to show you another view of the yard, here is a drone shot of a dam with the spillways opened. Somebody did some creative thinking on this one. My drone sits in the package, as it has since become illegal to fly it without registration, which in my instance will never happen. The government still maintains it only wants people to declare their gardens and which vegetables they are growing for “a study”. I have no doubt there are people stupid enough to do that. After all, some even buy survival food with a credit card and have it shipped to where they will be storing it. Duh.

           Later is another photo, this time a charge at a small restaurant for people paying by credit card. I always pay cash at a mom and pop, it is the considerate thing to do. I don’t even use credit but have to spend time each week keeping track. This is wasted time and I agree with small businesses. Charge extra for arseholes who don’t have enough cash for anything, it seems.

           I drove past the coffee shop on my way out of town and spotted Wilford grabbing breakfast. He’ll check on the shingles for me and he’s enough generations behind me to know the gig economy and how things really work. He’s steered me toward podcasting. You need to meet minimum requirements but without stating any, he says I handily meet them. Aim the camera, he says, and talk just like you always do. Wilford’s an insider and knows about the stats on this blog. He estimates I would make $1,000 per month using youTube, so I will take this matter seriously.
           Later this afternoon, I’ve slated two hours to look into beginner’s podcast advice and materials. While this blog has the worst imaginable mismatch between title and content, I’ll have you know I’ve been admonished for even considering changing anything. I will also review successful but non-commercial podcasts to test the water.

           One more item. BlackRock. They had a rough patch and my guess is sold off their lame ducks. This swelled their coffers to over $9 ($9,000,000,000.) I now value my cabin at least at $125,000 because it is livable. The availability of livable places in America will be long gone in the short future. A nation of renters is a nation controlled. Four companies will control over half of all rental properties. And I’m betting on one of them, the only one that does not have mortgages.
           Did you catch that article of the sports star who put everything in his mother’s name? Smart move. His trophy wife decided to divorce him. I’m always suspicious of one-sided divorce actions instigated by the wife of a rich man. Well, she just found out she’s not getting much of anything. Wise lad, for I saw her picture and really, I hope you had a good time because she was an obvious skank from the word go. Watch some feminist judge try something smart on this one. Strange how you never hear of supermodels being taken to the cleaners.
           Or how about that Asian who looted a Mac computer from a shop in Manhattan. He got about a half-block before he was mugged for it. Before I forget, Happy Titanic Day. Thieves are targeting EV charges because they are full of copper. Amazon has now made it deliberate policy to lie about free. Even if Trump gets in, there are millions of these sick-o concepts that have crawled into the marketplace. America needs to curb advertising.

Picture of the day.
NASA-designed female
astronaut makeup kit.
Remember to use BACK ARROW to return to blog.

           The concerned citizens of Chicago are protesting the Wal*Mart shutdowns. They say if the stores close, it will increase crime rates because the shoplifters will have to go after smaller businesses. The return is less, so they will have to loot more. Minneapolis now allows Muslim prayer times a day. It will only be time before they are allowed to do it in the streets and block traffic. The MSM loves to report that “the city” or “the state” passes these laws to make it sound like everybody was behind them. Not. What a pity it increases the damage that must now be undone.

           Deciding not to push the canopy work today, I spend a lot of the time on reading and research. No matter how I look at podcasts, things devolve to the same problem as books and blogs. How are you going to promote the thing? It’s a pity, if you ask me, that the Internet has become another form of mass advertising. Then again, I did issue warnings long ago, that it should be relegated to a “catalog” site, where people who wanted to buy things would voluntarily click.

           Hazelnuts. Due to a blight in Turkey, plus an early frost, they are starting to grow them in Oregon. According to NPR, in one of their rare informative non-political moments, a quarter of the world’s hazelnuts (also called filberts) are bought by Ferrero, the Nutella people. I don’t find that product a good chocolate substitute, but there are exclusive cafes that specialize. I tend to shun palm oil products.            JAQing off, the act of asking questions and ignoring the answers. It’s a mainstream media given, and the Premier of Alberta has announced she won’t answer them. Of course, the leftists are up in arms. I view it as pleading the fifth, they view it as a coverup for criminal activity whenever anybody else does it. TMOR, JAQ stands for “just asking questions”, but JAQing off is pronounced identical to the slang term for male masturbation.

           Here’s a photo of a 115V egg turner motor. It was stamped 1/240th turn per minute, which I felt idea for time lapse. It turns many times that speed, so it must have had a gearbox. I have no method of cutting gears, even plastic gears. You’d think by now there would be an inexpensive plastic gear cutting machine on the market, but I can’t find anything. (Remember my system is filtered back more than most.) This further shows that my endoscope cannot focus properly under most ordinary circumstances. It took ten minutes to get the roughly 90 frames shown in this gif. I chose this motor because it is almost completely silent.

           Caltier has now passed the five figure mark. Next weekend will be the five month mark so let’s review what has really happened. The total income to day is $70 in “dividends”. In terms of a systematic return anything like the funds claim, this is pathetic performance. Less than 10%. But we do not know what happens over a full year. Maybe there is a year end bonus? The funds are required by law to disperse all profits monthly. I’ve not seen one fund where the literature is clear. Caltier was chosen because it avoids mortgages—so let the rest of the country collapse. I’ve got no mortgage and neither does what may become my biggest investment.
           The Reb called, Sammy is fine. But she had to take him to the emergency clinic. What’s emergency? Three times the price. I decided a nice evening at home with the DVD I’ve never seen, “Day After Tomorrow”. Heard it had great special effects. To keep things going, I’m repairing small articles on the desk while watching. I’d like to see “I, Robot” again as over time I mis-remember some of the great lines and I love the way that movie inadvertently lets an entire class of people know they are stupider than a machine. So far, I’m half-right. Superb SFX, but they are going to push the lame climate change issue.
           As for the most realistic portrayal in the movie so far, it is how powerfully some people think they can wish things to be normal. Give me a break, risking death to save the Haitian lady’s most valuable possession—her passport.

ADDENDUM
           Here’s your millennial topic from this mornings splash screen. It’s going to tell me how to be the most interesting person in the room. Did I mention I have a new fan? She’ll definitely okay some pictures, so wait till you see this beauty. Anyway, time to get myself interesting. It’s six things I do and five questions I’m to ask.

Do:

• Be a giver, not a taker.
• Be aware of body language.
• Show your emotions.
• Be open-minded.
• Talk faster.
• Don’t drag on.

Ask:

• What’s your story?
• What makes you smile when you get up in the morning?
• What one book influenced you the most?
• What would excite you right now?
• What is the most important thing I should know about you?

           Honestly folks, I can’t agree with most of this. On giver-taker, my advice is you stay in neutral. Body language is useless in this age of posers. Emotions are for friends, not strangers. Few things are worse than an open-minded idiot. I’m okay with don’t drag on.
           As for the questions, tell you what. I’m more used to being asked and I would consider most exactly how to make Taylor smile in the morning and have been awaiting the opportunity a long, long time.

Last Laugh