One year ago today: December 5, 2022, she left for LA.
Five years ago today: December 5, 2018, quantum uses brute force, folks.
Nine years ago today: December 5, 2014, not a single process.
Random years ago today: December 5, 2009, a highly suspicious list.
Turpentine. I really knew little about it, but I have a can of it in the shed for cleaning stuff. I don’t care for the aroma, but noticed the can said it came from pine trees. Really? So I brought up an old 1940s documentary that said half the world’s supply (at that time) came from Georgia. Which I can verify is really full of pine trees. They hang buckets on the trees like collecting maple syrup, what a horrible way to make a living.
I did not know it is an ingredient of camphor, violin bow resin, axle grease, and now I recognize the aroma from resin core solder. Dang, my camera is kaput, so we’ll have a go at fixing things and getting the last round of photos. Ah, here are some, forgive repeats and be glad we got these. First is the house I would buy the Reb if I had the cash. It’s just a place near Harding Rd I found impressive, though it was scrunched between other similar big houses. The middle shows the leaf pile that eventually broke my rake handle. And last is the hospice she’s been staying at with my KIA parked in front.
There is another photo but it could be Florida. This little yellow-breasted bird, friendly as heck, I have yet to identify. Back in Florida, the yard birds, especially the cardinals, seem to require two days to spot I am back. Two days quiet, then they know when it is feeding time.and they like their breadcrumbs on the side. Hang on, the Reb just called from the clinic and then had to hang up. This may mean the stitches are coming out. But she would not call at such a time without important news. Hmmmm.
Rock and roll, is it a music expression? Trivia this morning because it’s cold outside. The answer is no, it originates from railway tracks and was applied to music later. Before continuous rail welding, each length of track had an expansion joint bolted to the next. This is the clacking sound as the bogies roll over and it eventually wears the joint down. These worn joints is what gives boxcars a slight rock and they roll and harmonically it gets itself going. If I had any brains, I’d get on a train, bus, or car, and get right back to Tennessee.
Myself, I can tell you I care about the Reb that much. For those who point out we are not an item, I point out that I’ve never had that situation with any other woman either. And lordy knows I’ve been through a lot of them. Put another way, if I met the right gal tomorrow, my life is 90% over the fun part at least. If I spent the last 10% in paradise, it would not begin to balance out what I’ve already been through. I would no longer have the wherewithal to fully enjoy it and even that is a distant horizon. Let me tell you, I’ve met some nice women but in every case, they were in it for themselves. I used to wonder if I was somehow attracting the wrong type. Now I figure if you are honest, well-educated, and hard-working, they see you as a mark. A provider, which I am under the right circumstances. Those just are not the ones.
So even if it is me, the odds are no longer that I’ll meet anyone that makes the grade. I don’t have any routines that confine who I would meet or where or any particular type of woman, so the game is mostly over. Then again, I have not met Taylor yet, or I mean she has not met me. JZ was just on the phone for an hour. He’s figured out this is a life-changing situation and I have a commitment he’ll be here in January if I need help. There are a few projects that take two men, such as leveling that kitchen floor. Before continuing, this is some kind of oriental cooker I could not identify. Not rice, since that is a plate, not a bowl. Let me know in the comments if you know.
This time, my plan involves slowing down, not stopping. This fascinates JZ who thinks it is magic, but it is called planning ahead. He has more inside info on my investing over the previous few years because he was to follow, a style of investment called piggy-backing. That is, copy somebody you know is doing it right. If he had a mind to it, he could calculate the source of every dollar. I’m going to dip into budget amounts and use the CDs of last May to risk as backup. The risk is acceptable because I already knew last week a second emergency right now would wipe out years of savings, so I shift the risk to a known situation. The 4-month CD matured on September 24 and I let it roll over. The second matures on December 24.
Figure it out, that means I have one this month and next month if I need the cash. It means I only need enough right now to last two weeks and reserve enough gas to get to Tennessee, and we are okay until the end of February. Again, provided nothing blows up. I don’t really need new tires on the van and Xmas was never a big deal in my house. I’ll save another $200 by holding the anti-dormancy deposits for three or four months and my utilities are paid four months ahead. Again, planning, not magic.
Forest people logging blockade, Borneo.
Remember to use BACK ARROW to return to blog.
By mid-afternoon, I’ve been in two hours communication with Tennessee. It looks like the dog owner is going to fight this out. I have few details and not all of it is bloggable, just that he’s received professional coaching on what to say and he’s lying through his teeth. My guess is he’s done this before, and that he some experience playing the system. What excuse he could possible cook up I don’t know, but sadly the courts have to entertain it. My speculation is that he has little choice but to claim she provoked the attack. Well, he’s out of luck, I finished drawing up my plans last evening and he’s plainly a small operator.
The Mars helicopter, Ingenuity, continues to perform past its design date. It was built for five flights and has so far logged sixty-four. Too bad America can’t build a toaster that endurable. They’ve discovered nothing toward the questions of water and life and I can’t shake the feeling a lot of these flights are picture-taking for NASAs squadron of lobbyists. The photos that get released are all too Nevada-like. They keep repeating flights in zig-zag patterns. The total distance so far is just over six miles. Here’s a picture of an eroded rock, I’m surprised nobody from California has said it’s the Mars Sphynx.
This is a test of embedded NASA code: ADDENDUM
What’s and ESB? The US Navy has this new class of warship, the Expeditionary Sea Base. It’s an modified Alaskan oil tanker that’s described as a sea-going parking garage for helicopters. To me, that’s a cover story. The hulls were designed for huge bulk transport, so my guess is the ships house all kinds of goodies, such as computer centers, bunks, repair shops, but one item that truly intrigues me is their potential for unmanned warfare. The smaller drones, and I believe they will get ever smaller, can be carried by the thousands. What got my attention is the Navy has begun (or at least as I just found out) installing desalination plants on these vessels.
This picture is what I thought these ESBs were supposed to provide. Logistics support and a repair facility. I just finished reading a book on oil tanker design and see that something else is going on. Without protection, these are LSTs (large slow targets). But tankers are also some of the cheapest per cargo ships ever designed. They can build six for the price of one similar sized support ship. Let me think on that one, but the massive size of that rear superstructure tells me this is for some new style of warfare. If it is drones, my first suspicion, that is a floating control center to be surrounded by its own fleet of pilotless warplanes.
