April 4, 2023

Yesteryear
One year ago today: April 4, 2022, and unlimited supply.
Five years ago today: April 4, 2018, I heard cardinals . . .
Nine years ago today: April 4, 2014, the weaker material.
Random years ago today: April 4, 2019, “The Bureau of Prisons”, indeed.

           Oatmeal. I like it, with lots of sugar. That’s what got me out this cool morning to check on the grounds. It took an hour’s work just to make the tour and I got a list of things to get after. First, plug that squirrel hole. I said with spray foam, but there is another step I should mention. Squirrels can eat through that foam easier than wood. What you need is steel. And the popular misconception is that you can stuff the hole with steel wool. You got a problem, because that kind of steel rusts and it can also burn. What’s the answer? Dollar store potscrubbers a.k.a “squirrel nemesis”. Get the 3-pack.

           While at the store, I picked up a pack of those electric tea lights. The ones that claim to flicker for 120 hours We’re testing one. Flickering will begin next Tuesdays if I’m home and we'll check to see how close to 5 days we get. I notice some are already bad right out of the box. I was hoping they had a small switch but it is just a plastic slide. Mind you, there are two batteries in there. Button batteries are so weak a resistor is not needed.

           Then I drove to Winter Haven to pay bills. I was out of Internet service since leaving Tennessee, but my patrons know what to expect when I’m on the road. I finally got an answer out of Boost why they broke their promise to keep Virgin customer accounts active. Boost says they sold that department to Sprint who sold it to, um, the one that starts with a D. Anyway, Boost says it is them who discontinued Sprint and I’m like, yes, but you are the ones still responsible for the promise. Insert blank millennial stare here. Incidentally, because their system was hacked two months ago, they gave almost everyone some free service. But not me, since my bill is not paid by credit card. Darn, maybe I should give Boost all my information. For my own protection, of course. They are such nice people and all.
           The Reb just called, the A/C is kaput on the Civic. There’s the wisdom of two cars when you are in business. If it was possible, one should be able to carry only insurance on one, but too many crooked people scotched that option back in the 60s. Into the shop it goes, it may take a week to get a spot. Good thing I was doing the books this week. I’m busy right through to next Tuesday now.

           Here’s a scam that makes the rounds just too often. I would gladly join a class action to put these liars out of business. It says “you have definitely won” and I’m reminded of that guy (Patrick Coombs) back in the 60s or 70s who deposited the Publishing House check. Personally, I thought he had a great case but the system chewed his arse off. His story is interesting reading because what should have been a joke turned ugly when the bank turned on him. He says it changed him and he’s still out there today, weird as hell.

           How goes the Trump indictment? It’s variously referred to as a cover-up for something really big, a shit-show, and the greatest fundraiser in history. Below is a view of the New York police that were ordered to bring Trump in—all wearing MAGA hats because they hated what they were ordered to do. This is probably the turning point, there is no going back now without a tough and possibly violent fight. New York has been a shit-hole for a hundred years and now they are spending $200 million on a kangaroo court.
           My take is that if Trump is convicted, it will remove all final doubt that New York and the Democrats are corrupt to the core. This trial is their “nuclear option” to stop Trump from running in 2024. It is so blatant there are rumors it could disrupt the Deep State itself. It is disgusting enough that some Democrats may change sides (although the fact they can do so without consulting their voters is another cluster-you-know-what of its own).

           If Trump wins, it represents a major turning point. The failure of the best possible case the Democrats have been able to hobble together and even that took years. It would reveal a weakness in their system that they just cannot afford financially, politically, and socially. That last one is important, for all the criticism it attracts, there is a very strong and formal social system in America and it is not thugs, Blacks, queers, or creeps as the media would have the world believe. The mood is if the left can take down Trump on this phony issue, they can come after you—a very unpopular reputation to acquire around people who have guns.

Picture of the day.
Old shovel handles.
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           Took an hour to unload the van. Tennessee is more than a second home, obviously. Here is an object found in a parking lot during one of our strolls. The metal brass piece is in working order (saving me $17) and I’ll attempt to salvage the fittings. It was well driven-over so the pressure gauge is a goner. So much time was chewed up paying bills, I wound up putting 50+ miles on the van, that I just had time to stuff the steel mesh into the porthole as the dark and mosquitoes increased past the work limit. Alas, I also got hit with a nice case of fatigue and don’t underestimate that just because nobody notices it until they get it.

           Foolishly, I fought it off and commenced to play some bass and build a demo circuit. Most teaching material shows simple circuits that demonstrate how the parts work, not what they are capable of doing. I want to build what I think are the four or five basic combinations of parts that show what is going on. These things are difficult to build which might explain why so few “experts” ever show them. I’ve found most gadgets boil down to these basic circuits and I’m leaning more toward thinking the fundamental part is not the resistor, but the capacitor.

           Here is an example of what I have in mind. This is a circuit that does something useful and shows several important concepts in action. When the switch is pressed, both LEDs light up. You can’t see it, but the capacitor also charges. Release the switch. The first LED goes out instantly, as there is no power. Ah, but the second LED fades slowly and smoothly. As the capacitor discharges, the diode blocks the path back to the battery and the charge slowly goes to ground via the resistor. This is how many pilot lights work, minus the first LED which is just here to emphasize the effect. It is the effect that is the lesson.

           Where most texts would show just the diode this diagram shows how the diode can be used to “trap” a voltage inside the capacitor and hold it there after the switch is released. It shows the diode also as a safety, preventing any current from flowing back into the battery leg of the circuit. That could be trouble if transistors were present.

           I’m further disappointed by most circuit drawing apps on-line. You’d think it a priority for the makers to have the symbols snap to an invisible grid. And make the list of symbols show the most used first, and so on. This diagram, while I appreciate the app being free, took a half hour and I still had to resort to cut & paste with Paint.
           Informed I am that the safety diode is not a clear concept. How could electricity flow backwards? Imagine the second LED is a small electric motor. It has inductors and when the motor is shut off, the magnet fields collapse. This induces a sharp spike of power in the reverse direction. Power spikes are not your friend.
           This Saturday is the second anniversary of the Mars dronecopter. Strangely, nothing has been heard of it for the longest while. Is it still operating? NASA has announced the team going to the Moon. As expected, instead of sending our best, it is another shitload of diversity hires. There’s of course a black male and a white female, always. America is dying because these freaks and nobodies demand equally, which drags things down to their level. There is just no way the people chosen are the best for the job, but are the “Artemis Generation”, chosen for political reasons. That includes a Canadian. This is the manner of claptrap expected from NASA these days.

ADDENDUM
           “Six Days On The Road” is a country hillbilly rock crossover song written in 1963. Released by Dave Dudley, who I never heard of before or since, it was also covered by Johnny Cash. This is a hugely popular tune that has been released by not less than 104 artists. Here is a list, and I think the tune is still ripe for another version. They don’t write them like they used to.

           Woody Martin, Swanee Caldwell, Red Sovine, The Texas Troubadours, Dick Nolan, Hal "Lone Pine", Nashville Country Singers, Hank Snow, Ray Pillow, George Jones, Red Simpson, Jim & Jesse, Bobby Bare & The Hillsiders, Hank Thompson, Del Reeves, West, Charley Pride, Al Hooper with The Blue Diamonds, Taj Mahal, Country Joe McDonald, Livingston Taylor, John Laws, The Flying Burrito Brothers, Bud Brewer, Tennessee Five and Friends, Jesse Colin Young, Marc Ellington, The Muskrats, Kiki Dee, Dave Travis Bad River Band, Johnny Rivers, Brian Collins, Nev Nicholls, Ed Kilbourne, Country Cousins [GB], Brian Maxine, Johnny Grand, Lee Conway, Lane Travis, Colleen Peterson Rankarna & Mats Rådberg, Hobo Stringband, Col Joye - Bob Purtell - Jim Cooper - Laurie Alle, Alan Williams [GB2], Delta-Cross Band, Alf Robertson, Alan Ray, Barry Holmes and Country Express [AU], Chapparal, Terry Nash, Reg Lindsay, The Explodo Boys, Gram Parsons, Ron Pickering, Cash Backman, Tony Christie, Horseshoe, Claes-Göran Hederström, Noréns, Jimmy Lawton and Bobby Setter Band, The Celibate Rifles, Steve Earle and The Dukes, Bill's Boogie Band & Jukka Tolonen, Boxcar Willie, The Long Ryders,, Charlie McCoy & The Jordanaires The Balham Alligators, George Thorogood & The Destroyers, Albert Lee, Arlen Roth with Brian Setzer, Zona B, David Allan Coe, Sawyer Brown, The Flying Other Brothers Band, The Coal Porters, Lonstar, BR5-49, Bob Luman, Tamra Rosanes, Jim Croce, Andy & The Rockits, The Monroes [US2], Sin City All Stars, Dale Peterson, The Blue Canyon Boys, The Youngbloods, Blues Support, Ollie Austin, Mike and The Strangers with Rayburn Anthony, Mudcrutch, Popa Chubby with Galea, Mitch Daniel, The JAC, Calvin Lengwood, Kevin Cash and The Cattlemens, The Rockhoppers, Leigh Moneghetti, Andreas Jonsson & The Pink Cadillac Band, The Lords of Altamont, Adam Brand, Eric Church, Nightflyer, Outer Park, Hilland Playboys.

          Not shown are a suprising number of other foreign artists whose names this keyboard cannot handily render. You could slip Nikolas Tesla's name in there and not one of his cult followers would notice or object, though they doubtless would claim he was the one who actually wrote the song.

Last Laugh