August 23, 2023

Yesteryear
One year ago today: August 23, 2022, my letter-writing rules.
Five years ago today: August 23, 2018, she didn’t listen.
Nine years ago today: August 23, 2014, 18 on the dance floor.
Random years ago today: August 23, 2008, NASA codes are easy to hack.

           Today you get plant news, because the plants were the fasted moving thing around here most of the day. I found my old Argus 1610 in the shed and it looks like it might still be in working condition. Pictures next day, here is a picture of the baby weed. It is just a plant that took off in the back yard, faster than anything around it. Now in its own clay pot, getting spoiled to see what grows. In the foreground are five papaya seeds which have not sprouted. Now admit it, how many blogs would dare to feature a weed from the back yard?

           India’s clone probe has made a landing on the Moon, I follow that stream mainly as the prime example of how the Third World does little but copy American technology. Even their control room is a clone of NASA, full of flat screens all based on American designs – even if they are made in Japan or China. None of these countries, with their illustrious culture and history ever got a thing to fly until America came along. I don’t dislike their programs, I just like pointing out the hypocrisy. The Russians did try to beat them, but lost communication. The Russian space agency, by the way, is called Roscosmos. (India’s first lander failed in 2019.)
           America is ready for the Trump/Tucker debate, though that is a misnomer. It is about setting the MSM in their place. They could talk about pancake recipes at this point and blot out the fake news. I suspect 100 million may watch just to see that happen, that is how unpopular and untrusted outfits like Fox and CNN are considered.

           I braved the heat and got the electric chain saw to work in the back. It’s not too bad, just a lot of work. A 6-beer fire is pending and I’m more than ready. Other weeds have again taken over the far back yard. Here’s a pile of the limbs now being cut to barrel size. Maybe some of the logs can be salvaged for bird houses. The majority goes into the barrel. Look close and you can see the tail end of my old wagon, now in need of total restoration. Mind you, all the metal was enameled and is in pretty good shape.
           Big media has put a complete lid on reporting the results of the Trump-Tucker show, timed to upstage the lame political “debates”. The show starts in a few hours from now and I can’t find any place to view it. All my usual paths lead to almost anything except a feed for that event. What a travesty that is on the Internet, which was intended as a vehicle for free speech. We’ll know tomorrow but I kind of slated time to watch the fireworks.

           I drove up to KIA and they don’t know if the seats in the van recline or fold up either. There were no mechanics or techs on duty, so I’ll try again another day. Somebody has built a model of the Titanic that sinks like the real thing. Amazing what you can do with microcomputers when you apply yourself. Here are some ancient designs for air conditioning. They act as cooling towers and apparently work even when there is no wind.

           And from Reddit, here is a list of failed first dates:

a) brings her baby out in a car seat
b) stops at her mother’s place for a half-hour
c) pull over search finds a brick of coke
d) said she only had “situationships” and a “virgin heart”
e) he got out and played the bagpipes
f) some guy walked in, paid for her meal only, and left

Picture of the day.
Canton Avenue, Pittsburg.
Remember to use BACK ARROW to return to blog.

           Too hot. I stayed indoors and wrote some letters. Dang, I really felt like doing more work today. That chainsaw was a good workout, probably 500 calories anyway. I watch my weight, if you don’t remember, an unexpected gain in 2003 led to serious health issues for me. So I’m monitoring again because of gaining six pounds the past month. It doesn’t worry me, since my strict diet means I have not consumed the required intake for that. But my history says pay attention. It also says I can drink all the coffee I want.

           We have some healthy green on the avocado plant. Here it is, over the past day these leaves have expanded and filled out. The stem is still spindly but it’s holding up well. What’s not holding up are those $4,000 Dutch eBikes. The company just went bankrupt because of warranty work. The bikes broke down so often they could not keep up. What’s more, the guts of the bike are inside the frame, which is sealed so nobody else can do any work on them Most common repair? The gear shifter.

           There is also a rumor that ChatGPT is in trouble. I suspect they underestimated how many people would pay a subscription, meaning they would lose money if the numbers were wrong. Hmmm, seems they should have used artificial intelligence to avoid that. Some of these companies could also use A.I. to fix their utterly lousy and cluttered home pages. Pardon me, I’m informed they are not pages, but a “user interface”. Don’t mix the two up. Now, where was I? Oh yes, yard plants.
           Here is the pineapple, sprouting roots. The on-line videos say this is a ratoon or a pup, and it will take 18 months to grow. Hell, that’s into 2025. The plant can be forced to flower, it says, by cold weather. Other say don’t let these roots form, that the roots are already in the stem. Yep, the Internet if so full of experts that it may one day fall over. This pineapple is going into a flower pot soon with a 50/50 mix of the sandy yard soil and potting mix. Then, like the rest, it is on its own. I gave the fire-pit planter another coat of paint and am planning what sort of base plate it will need to support the weight of flower pots. I’m thinking of 2x4s, because I don’t know if the club welder will works. It is inside a suitcase in the red shed. While I have some angle iron, I don’t have any experience working with it except building shelves.

           The big media companies are outdoing themselves over negative takes on the Trump-Tucker debate, which began an hour ago. On they go that Trump, who is leading by at least 40 points in the polls is “ducking” the debate, claiming he is afraid to face his challengers. Yet, most reports that have appeared say the debate was little more than a Trump-bashing opportunity for the losing candidates. Some of the questions were, to me, surprisingly unfriendly to the Leftoids who infest the Republican party. Like would you support Trump if he is convicted (most said yes). That’s just playing it safe, I think.
           They did nothing while cheating was taking place at the highest levels, but all it takes is some third-rate lawsuit in Georgia to threaten Trump with a life sentence. I would watch out if I was the bad guys on this one. It’s too obvious what they are trying and we know there are those who regard Trump as their Supreme Commander.

ADDENDUM
           Like statistics? Here is one you’ll love. Zuck’s Horizon Worlds had few visitors y’day than this blog. That is correct. Only 900 showed on the counter, mostly underagers who don’t speak English. And this blog is taking a serious look at the avatars on Synthesia. Even if their lips never match the words and the females are all meh.

Last Laugh