August 15, 2023

Yesteryear
One year ago today: August 15, 2022, summer is slow time, blogwise.
Five years ago today: August 15, 2018, but not tonight.
Nine years ago today: August 15, 2014, they wanted a flunky.
Random years ago today: August 15, 2008, a sardine sandwich.

           Mrs. Downey is back, but no sign of her mate. I put out fresh suet and frozen blueberries. The cardinals are all over the yard, a well-known birdie paradise I venture to say. It appears possible to bribe the squirrels with a single peanut each. The government in Hawaii has proposed buying the land scorched by the fire and turn it into a memorial park. That didn’t take long. I got my little toy saw here, knowing full well it is just a toy. This saw is for cutting plastic and thin cardboard only. I went on-line to check for projects and some goof made a video trying to cut a 1/2” plank and complaining the saw didn’t work. First thing you do is put on a carbide blade. Easier said than done.

           A 40% cloud cover had me outside at 9:00AM, what a great day. No grand projects completed, but I did put up a shelf and who remembers that flower that grows in the back with the clusters of tiny blooms? I got a cutting in a pot to see if it can be tamed. Something odd, the squirrels find any food I set out within minutes, they’ve learned to associate movement in the yard—until today. This is the sixth day I’ve set them out a tribute (I knew you’d like that analogy) but four hours later they have not appeared. It also coincides with this hot spell so I’ll just keep checking.

           I went downtown last evening and compiled the song lists, though nothing like the wish lists some bands put together. I looking to maximize variations in tempo, key, style, and other what-ifs that crop up on stage. Before I sang, I never though twice about doing a bunch of songs in the same key. My plans center on three sets, not four. Once a few parts are arranged and coordinated, I’m looking for a place to practice live. First place to check is the Pavilion. It’s not a given, the staff is all one family and I’ve only met a few of them. Two of the sisters can barely be told apart yet they are not twins. And the decisions seem left up to whomever is serving that particular day. It’s a bit like dealing with six different club managers.
           Another indictment has sent Trump’s approval ratings through the roof. The libtards must be tearing their hair out, the way their dirty tricks have the opposite effect on Trump. Years ago I speculated he could start his own party. His enemies have finally come to the same conclusion, though Trump has said nothing. But the consensus is he could trounce both existing big groups. That is, not just win against them, but put them out of business. It’s pretty much recognized that although the Democrats are committing crimes, the Republicans won’t do anything about it.
           There are now open calls for Biden to hang and I don’t think all of them are kidding. The independent polls show that 75% of any random group deny they voted for Biden. Couple that with Trumps unparalleled popularity and a shake-up is due. What is Trump up to? He’s got million in the war chest but he’s not spending it like his rivals expect. He wasted time and money on their false accusations last round so he isn’t playing their game. I told ya, the guy has learned the art of political warfare and he knows he’s got his enemies on the run.

           Canada passed a law requiring on-line services to pay regular media outlets a fee for posting their news stories. At least that’s the theory, but I suspect the real motive is censorship. It was an easy way for Ottawa to shut off the spread of any unpopular public opinion. The government knows the tech giants are not going to go along with paying royalties. All that will be left is “government approved” versions. For me, it is easy to take sides. The huge spread of Internets news was caused by corrupt, biased, and overpriced standard media and they had it coming. What I never understood is how they can censor in one country. I’ve not kept up with the technology, but if you can’t find a news item on your local Instagram, log on to another country’s Instagram.

Picture of the day.
Failed Russian robot tank.
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           The oil tanker book. I’m on page 252 and past most of the crappy chapters on global warming. The new technologies are expensive, requiring effort at the national level. Interestingly, there is a component of 3D printing tech. England seems determined to keep some shipbuilding yards mainly due to its traditions with the Royal Navy. Along with Scotland, the whole island lost any lead in shipbuilding when costs got up 30% higher than ships from Japan.

           There are so many statistics involved yet it was clear labor was largely responsible. Weird stats, like man-hours per ton of steel and days in berth. One aspect is clear. Even with the attention given to mass-production, most of the ships were custom built. The manpower costs are so high it will take a miracle to turn things around. Europe currently builds mostly cruise liners Even with full robotics making 3D parts the book says only 15% is saved. The book is interesting but not absorbing, I reading a few pages per day.

           The movie “Barbie” is being banned internationally and it is revealed Oprah bought 870 acres of land right next to where the Hawaii fires broke out. Police blocked residents from leaving the flames. Biden sent people who lost their houses a check for $700. He’s piling the indictments on Trump like there’s no tomorrow, if you’ll pardon the expression. He’s sinking fast, if the indictments had any merit, one would have sufficed.
           Here’s the Squirrel Hex on the new work bench. If you look, you can see a regular tower bird feeder inside the assembly. It’s not test yet, this has been another nothing day for you to compare to other nothing days. Nobody’s forgotten it’s Gunsmoke Tuesday and I have a tale from the trailer court for you. The scenario is a room with four adults all watching an episode where a man is making nitroglycerin from dynamite. Some crooks are using it to blast safes. This is a corny old western, so we all saw the same footage, right? Wrong.

           Afterward, we talked about the plot and the other three were curious why they didn’t just use all that dynamite instead of nitro. They had just watched the program without a clue that nitroglycerin was the explosive ingredient of dynamite. They were gaping in awe as I described why the nitro had to be distilled to blast the safe because a dynamite charge large enough would also destroy the safe contents. And you wonder why I don’t trust other people with money, directions, or matching sets. But they all agreed the dance-hall girl was a prostitute. That much they knew for sure, duh-yup.